Alright, so I have been using this for about a week and I love love love it! I used to have really oily/flaky (combination) skin. For the first time I made it through the whole day without having to dab at the oil or reapply powder. It was awesome! I am using about 40% CO, 50% grapeseed, 10% EVOO. I just bought coconut oil and I am curious to try that. I am still a bit dry on my cheeks but not nearly as bad.

Last night even got the "OCM glow" many of you were talking about. For some reason it made all the difference that I left the oil on my face a couple minutes longer and then took a cotton pad and gently wiped off before I steamed and rinsed.

How does one know which oils one's skin is most likely to respond well to ? Is it just a matter of trial and error or is there some info that could prepare one?

I'm about to make my own mix and am not at all sure exactly where to begin. I see a lot of fine tuning going on with everyone's recipe's, and it's great that as we get more experienced we can tailor make our own skin care.

At the same time I'm wondering about the various properties of almond oil, grapeseed etc that I see some people choosing over EVOO.

NatashaS, have you tried OCM and then washing the oil off with your tomato soap? I've been washing the oil off with my black soap (which I love) and that seems to be working. I get some of the benefit of the oils and some of the benefit of the soap. Worth a try, anyway.

Unfortunately I am getting little red bumps all over my face now. Or actually all over the areas of my face that never ever break out. It is very disturbing, discouraging and frustrating. I still have all the big cysts on my chin and now red bumps everywhere else. I am just a mess. I am going to go off the oil completely (even as a moisturizer). It just isn't working for me.

My face started drying out a bit and I got little red zits on my cheeks, which took only about a day and a half to disappear. I have also started rubbing the coconut oil first and then rubbing in my normal mixture. My dryness has gone away, my oilyness has gone away, my nose blackheads are much less noticable and are going away. . .sweet!

Now, for those bumps that popped up- which im chalking up to my poor pores (heh) cleaning themselves out and my face adjusting. I also wish my chin blackheads would go away.

Hmm, I keep hearing people mention the "make it yourself" strips, maybe all go search for that now. . .along with that aspirine mask I keep hearing about.

Okay. I have decided not the throw the towel in yet. I was just so horrified by all the bumps yesterday. However, they get less red within 30 minutes or so. So maybe they ARE due to clogged pores. It's just so weird to have them where I never have had previous problems.

Still after ONE day of using the tomato soap my skin was getting super dry. So I am going to go with CurlyJenn's suggestion and try OCM but washing off with my tomato soap instead of scrubbing it off with hot water. I tried it this morning and my face feels balanced moisture-wise. Still got lots of bumps but I am hoping if I get all the cleansing oil off they will clear up soon.

Anyone have any experience with lots of red bumps clearing up eventually? I really do want this to work.

I've been under a lot of stress lately and fell off the OCM bandwagon. My skin has been breaking out a lot - for hormonal reasons as well - and my skin is totally splotchy now. It also look like I've got rosacea as well - I've got lot of little red veins popping up everywhere. I'm not thrilled. I've tried using aspirin masks, and they used to work at first just mixing it with a little water and honey. I tried another recipe with a face moisturizer just because it was easier and it completely irritated my skin. I don't know if my skin is just being overly sensitive at the moment or if I'm maybe allergic to something in the moisturizer (I hadn't used it in a while since OCM was moisturizing enough). Maybe the cream just isn't good anymore. Who knows. I just hope that OCM is my holy grail. Coconut oil didn't help to cut down on my acne nor did it help with the overall condition of my complexion. I had good results with OCM before. I hope it can save my face now.

My skin does not like oils but I am chiming in to say that I used OCM on my mother's neglected face of 47 and boy! has it made a difference..Her skin looks so healthy now..It has eased out all the creases and except for tha laugh lines...every thing looks smooth on her face..Its like a magic makeover for her...Thank You LHC

I am still trying OCM but I switched to 100% Jojoba Oil and my face likes it much better. It is much less greasy and just knowing that it is recommended for acne is good. I am cleansing with it twice a day but using my tomato soap to wash it off. Then I use a tiny bit more to moisturize.

I guess we'll see . . .

Other uses for OCM:

I'm still using, and loving, OCM. My mix is currently:
1 tbsp castor oil
1 tbsp EVOO
10 drops Jamieson Tea Tree Oil (it has vitamin E in it as well)

I've discovered other uses for OCM that I wanted to share. After a month of doing this on my face, I suddenly noticed how soft my palms were and the minor calluses (sp?) had disappeared. So now, after massaging my face and draping the washcloth to steam, I massage the leftover oil on my palms into my hands and cuticles, wiping them off at the same time that I wipe my face. My hands and nails have never looked better!

I also use my OCM mix for shaving my legs! Smooth, no bumps or rash, and no need to moisturize afterwards!

OCM is great!

Sorry if this was mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but I can't figure out how to search on just "DHC"..... Has anyone used DHC Deep Cleansing Oil in their OCM routine? I don't want to blend oil(s) and other ingredients on my own, so I'm considering trying this. Doesn't seem that pure to me, given the ingredients, but I'm interested in reading about results. If there's another thread about this product, please :flower: link me to it -- I didn't see one come up in my search.

From dhccare.com (http://www.dhccare.com/DHC/ProductDetail.aspx?CS_ProductID=300&CS_Catalog=DHC%20USA), the ingredients:
olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, sorbeth-30 tetraoleate, tocopherol, phenoxyethanol, propylparaben, stearyl glycyrrhetinate, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil

After reading this thread I had to give this a try. I have a jar of Coconut oil with Rosemary EO in it that I use for hair, lips, and legs, so I figured if the rest of my body liked it my face would as well.
Wow, the first wash felt so nice, and several little hardened oil chunks came out. Definitely going to be trying this out for a while.

I've been using a mix of 50% evoo, 50% castor oil, a few squirts of jojob with some tea tree and lavender oil mixed in for about a week now. So far I have noticed a few more whiteheads than normal and also a huge reddish painful thing on my lower cheek (totally not a normal place for a blemish). I am not sure what to make of the OCM so far, I'm hoping this is just an adjustment phase. ??

My skin is usually normal to dry, sensitive, very fair and I never get blackheads, only whiteheads from time to time. My OCM method is done in the shower - I start with about a tablespoon of the oils in my palm and massage it in at the beginning of my shower, then rinse and wipe it off at the end of my shower. After my skin dries it doesn't feel tight, though it feels like it needs something so I moisturize afterwards. Am I doing something wrong?

Am I doing something wrong?

Probably not :) There is a period of adjustment when using OCM, it's getting deep down to clean and your face basically gets a little worse before it gets better.

Although the OCM just doesn't work for some people, I would give it a while longer to see what it does for you.

Good luck :)

OCM is just amazing. I've only done 3 'washes' but my pores have shrunk and the tiny blackheads on my nose have dissappeared. My face has a soft and very smooth texture too.

Sorry if this was mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but I can't figure out how to search on just "DHC"..... Has anyone used DHC Deep Cleansing Oil in their OCM routine? I don't want to blend oil(s) and other ingredients on my own, so I'm considering trying this. Doesn't seem that pure to me, given the ingredients, but I'm interested in reading about results. If there's another thread about this product, please :flower: link me to it -- I didn't see one come up in my search.

From dhccare.com (http://www.dhccare.com/DHC/ProductDetail.aspx?CS_ProductID=300&CS_Catalog=DHC%20USA), the ingredients:
olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, sorbeth-30 tetraoleate, tocopherol, phenoxyethanol, propylparaben, stearyl glycyrrhetinate, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil

I like the OCM here, but want to try this product as well. It's gotten some pretty good reviews on makeupalley.com. I have emailed the site for some samples. I'll let you know. I don't mind trying a sample for comparison, but the OCM here is so cheap!

I just finished using up my sample of the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil last night -- I got 2 nights worth of oil from the sample. It worked well, but my face felt a little tight and dry afterward. I just ordered some La Vitton facial cleansing oil -- ingredients seem more natural and it comes in a normal/dry or oily/combo formula. Will report results in my journal and in this thread after I use it for a while.

I've been using a mix of 50% evoo, 50% castor oil, a few squirts of jojob with some tea tree and lavender oil mixed in for about a week now. So far I have noticed a few more whiteheads than normal and also a huge reddish painful thing on my lower cheek (totally not a normal place for a blemish). I am not sure what to make of the OCM so far, I'm hoping this is just an adjustment phase. ??

My skin is usually normal to dry, sensitive, very fair and I never get blackheads, only whiteheads from time to time. My OCM method is done in the shower - I start with about a tablespoon of the oils in my palm and massage it in at the beginning of my shower, then rinse and wipe it off at the end of my shower. After my skin dries it doesn't feel tight, though it feels like it needs something so I moisturize afterwards. Am I doing something wrong?

Your method sounds fine but it is a little different from how I do it. In case you're interested... I use a little less than you, maybe a teaspoon or two to rub in and then do the washcloth thing; move out from under the shower, and turn off the cold. Then soak the washcloth in the hot, wring it out and drape over my face while I blindly try to turn the cold back on. I "steam" (I know, I'm in the shower, it should already be getting steamed) my face for maybe 20 seconds tops and then use the washcloth to wipe off any remaining oil, rewetting with the not scalding water now coming out of the shower head and wiping again until it's mostly off.

I kinda have this theory that the hot washcloth makes you sweat out the oil a little bit and lets you remove it better. I could be wrong, but so far I get really good results with this cleansing method.

I never really had an adjustment period after starting OCM (over 3 months ago now), although I've heard of others saying that they did but I also am more of a combination/greasy skin type rather than dry so maybe that had something to do with it. If the zits keep getting worse I'd say it's probally best to stop. Maybe try the "steaming" thing if you're feeling inspired.

I need to moisturize afterwards as well so you're not alone there. It's a really cheap way to clean your face which is wonderful for me, but clearly not for everyone's skin. Good luck with it.

I have been using this for like 3 weeks now the first few days were great I had the glow and everything. Then the second week I had terrible bumps but they were in the place I usually have deep imbedded black heads and when they got big I could see they were black heads. I havent heard anyone mention having them on their cheeks under their eye thats were I get mine at. They have never got this big before though usually just come up and I scratch them off but these got big like a white head but the strange thing is they got big and almost as soon started going away. Now im on the third week and I havent had any really big ones so I guess those were just embedded ones I already had. I actually can see my wrinkles getting smoother or is this my imagination.

As an alternative to EVOO, would you recommend grapeseed oil or sweet almond oil? I've heard of people using both, but I'm having trouble deciding. I might just try both/see what the store has, though.

I have just started this yesterday night and have done this 2 times so far. I used 100% EVOO since I don't have any other oils but I will try and use other oils.
I have acne prone-ish combo skin, but my main problem is congested pores and blackheads. I also have lots of acne scarring and marks.

After I OCMed last night it felt great but soon my face was quite oily ( it's usually like this too with normal cleansers.. but the only difference is when i use normal cleansers my skin feels tight after washing then oily afterwards, whereas with OCM my skin feels nice and soft after washing ). Then I tried it again this morning and it was alright.

Will report back on how I'm going in a few days..
Thanks for the great article back at page 1!

Well, I'm new to LHC, but I've been using OCM for several weeks now (maybe 6 weeks?). I'm going to chime in: it's a great cleansing method! My skin continues to adjust & improve. I'm still breaking out a little (hormonal, primarily), but I've given Proactiv the boot. Any pimples I do get seem to clear much more quickly than they used to (I think this is also the result of the lavender & tea tree EO's I include in my mix).

My mix: Jojoba (75%) & Grapeseed (25%) oils plus lavender & tea tree. I steam briefly with a warm terry washcloth, then wipe off. I use it AM & PM.

Sometimes I follow with a witch hazel & EO toner, sometimes an ACV/Aspirin toner, sometimes no toner at all. In the AM, I always put on SPF moisturizer. In the PM, I might follow with a mild AHA peel or aspirin mask before moisturizing with either a glycolic-based treatment or more of the jojoba oil mixture. So I always have either an AHA or BHA exfoliating treatment going. If I get one of those big, painful cystic hormonal pimples starting up (they are rarer & rarer), I do use BP as a spot treatment. This combined with tea tree oil and the OCM oil mix (as a spot treatment) seem to have sped up the healing to a period of maybe three days rather than a week or more.

I also did up a mix with Castor Oil & Grapeseed Oil, but found it just didn't feel right. I broke out immediately after using it (next morning) - probably part of the CO purge, but I just didn't want to deal with that. I'm happy to have slower, less dramatic progress if I can avoid a massive breakout. So overall my skin is more comfortable & my nose pores are smaller, tho' it does seem my skin is gradually purging a little at a time. But I can deal with that since I can see and feel overall improvement right now (softer skin, balanced t-zone, glowing) - I expect in a few more months my skin will be gorgeous. :inlove:

One thing I plan on trying (I mentioned this at the Mane forum) is a cocoa butter based oil cleanser (I've added the Castor Oil/Grapeseed Oil mix plus a little EVOO to a tub of Cocoa Butter) to see if I can have an OCM more suited to travel. (I made up the mix to use as a conditioner for my ends - cool if I can make one product for multipurpose use) I didn't see anyone mention Cocoa Butter here, so I don't know if anyone has tried it, but I figure if it's good enough for LUSH, it's good enough for me.

Happy OCMing, y'all!

This is so interesting; I have been cleansing with oil a long time now, but have done it quite differently from the method described here. I just dab a cotton ball in oil, spread it on my face (or then just spread it with fingers), and then wipe my face with another cottonball dabbed in my homemade toner - water, witch hazel and EO based. (I have also used oils as eye makeup remover for a long time.) I didn't know about this kind of routine at all! (Pity I didn't heappen to read this sticky sooner!) I just tried it now according to the method described here, and will see what the results are, after a few washes! Right now skin feels quite soft, at least.

Btw, why does it have to be just castor oil and/or EVOO? I feel they are both quite heavy... Until now I've been mostly using almond oil, and just now, when doing it "by the book" for the first time, I used virgin coconut oil. (I'm sure organic virgin coconut oil has as good healing properties as castor oil, as it's such a "miraculous" oil anyway with numerous health benefits!)

ive been using ocm for few weeks now - i love it. but i was wondering if anyone else has noticed that they are catching the sun more.

i wear spf 30 but over the last few weeks i have acquired a very strong tan - which i dnt want btw.

my thinking is the oil is making me tan quicker ??? any thoughts???/?

If anyone cares, the Cocoa Butter/Castor Oil/Grapeseed Oil mix works great. OCM for the road. ;)

ive been using ocm for few weeks now - i love it. but i was wondering if anyone else has noticed that they are catching the sun more.

i wear spf 30 but over the last few weeks i have acquired a very strong tan - which i dnt want btw.

my thinking is the oil is making me tan quicker ??? any thoughts???/?

Depending on what oils you're using exactly, it is possible- some essential oils in particular are photosensitizers, which means that your skin is much more sensitive to sunlight after exposure to the oils than it usually is.

Another possibility is that the oil is simply diluting your sunscreen- I would make sure to give any oil on your skin a chance to absorb and maybe even gently blot with a clean towel before applying the sun screen.

Yes, I was going to add that the oil may be diluting the sunscreen as well. Somehow the sunscreen just doesn't seem as "full strength" with the OCM, but adjustments can be made.

I can't wait to try OCM! I'm so glad I stumbled on this thread today.

My skin is super dry and flaking right now. I have to use sunscreen all the time, but it always burns the skin on my face when I apply it and then my skin gets all dry and flaky. I mean really BAD flaky! I'm using Neutrogena's brand new SPF 55 A & B Blocker right now. Prior to that I used H. Tropic 60+ and numerous other brands.

Sounds like OCM might be just the thing to help my skin. Can't wait to give it a try.

I've been trying this method on and off for years, though I don't use steam. My skin usually doesn't like oils either right away or after a few days. Last night I tried olive oil with honey. Decent results, but I need to give it longer. I would be very excited if this works.

I've been using a mixture of coconut oil and castor oil, melted and rubbed together in my palms. I've been doing this now for about a month and my skin has never looked or felt better as an adult! Thank you Stephanie.

Oh I was just coming here to find out if anyone had tried using coconut oil for cleansing! I finally found some and it is AWESOME in my hair and on my dry skin! I'm definitely going to try it now!

OK, I've been doing this for almost a week now, and I'm just amazed!

I have very oily skin, just greasy. We joke that if I don't get a shower every day my skin will slide off of my skeleton. But, the OCM made sense to me and I thought, well, if it makes things worse I can always go back to what I was doing, right?

I've been using 25% CO, 75% OO with 2 drops of tea tree oil. I also start each time with just CO on my nose, because it's fairly oily. I can't use a lot of heat because of my rosacea, so I gently wash it all off with our old cloth diapers. I hope that doesn't sound too gross, they're clean, I promise! They haven't been diapers in years, we've been using them as washcloths, dust rags, camping towels etc.

They work very well! They're smooth enough not to be too scrubby, and large enough that there's lots of clean surface area to work with.

I've also been using the aspirin mask every few days, another wonderful thing!

Anyway, my skin is clear, clean and smooth, and I've started getting unsoliticed compliments, can you believe it? Mostly because my rosacea has calmed down so much.

I love this! I can't see any reason to go back...

I echo Hipmama1970's comments. I've been using 50% castor oil and 50% coconut oil for cleansing for about the last week and have seen a HUGE difference in my skin already. Far less dryness, even though I do still have to use the heavy duty sunblocks. And I smell so good afterward because of the coconut oil! :)

I tried an OCM wash tonight for the first time! I liked it! I used about 75% EVOO/25% CO because my skin is really dry and super sensitive. I can find a product that works for me for a while, but inevitably, after a few months or so, I start to develop a sensitivity to whatever I'm using, even if it worked great for however long I had been using it. It doesn't matter what kind, natural products from the health food store, expensive stuff from the department store cosmetic counter, eventually I have to stop using it.

After I washed my face with the OCM it felt very soft and not a bit tight, and the pores on my nose looked smaller. Then I got in the shower and decided to do a honey mask, for no reason other than I like honey masks, it had been a while since I'd done one, and I was in the shower and the honey was there. (Where else but LHC can you say, "I was in the shower and the honey was there", and it sounds normal?) For some reason the honey mask made my skin feel dry and tight, but still very soft to the touch. Next time I'll use the oil and not put on any honey afterwards and see how that does. I really hope this ends up working for the long term, I'm looking forward to the money I'll save not continually buying expensive products that don't really live up to my expectations.

I've ended up finding that I'm better off using a higher percentage of coconut oil to castor oil - about 75% coconut, 25% castor. I started to get a bit dry - must be the cleansing action of the castor oil? Upping the coconut oil stopped the dryness immediately. I'm so happy with the results & my skin looks and feels so much better.

I've just added some coconut oil to my little bottle of EVOO/CO mix, it's so hot that my coconut oil is melted, and I love coconut oil, so I thought I'd try it.

My greasy, oily skin is actually getting a teensy bit on the dry side (wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, if I may get all Fiddler on the Roof on you!)

I'm seeing some folks are adding coconut because of that, I'll have to try it...

sounds good, I'm going to give it a try starting tonight! I think I'll also try some coconut while the weather is hot enough to keep it liquid.

I went to the dermatologist today, turns out the strange roving rash is eczema, or so she says. I've never had that before. She suggested putting VASELINE on my eyelids, so I confessed to her that I've started washing my face with olive oil and she said that's excellent, one of the best-kept beauty secrets, and something about not using anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat, which really does make a lot of sense.

She suggested putting VASELINE on my eyelids, so I confessed to her that I've started washing my face with olive oil and she said that's excellent, one of the best-kept beauty secrets, and something about not using anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat, which really does make a lot of sense.

That DOES make a lot of sense!

I just wanted to check back in and say that the coconut oil is going very well on my skin and it's not too drying. I tried to put it on after and I ended up very oily, so I'm sticking with a couple of drops of jojoba. Oh, and I'm still using straight castor oil on my nose first, those nasty pores are finally shrinking away!

Hello all. I need to go shopping! I've been doing OCM for about a month with just jojoba oil. My skin feels softer and the dry parts are not dry any more (I have combination skin), but I hadn't seen any great improvements on my nose which has large pores. I need castor oil. Never thought I'd say that!

I like the idea of not using anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat, but really don't think I could stick to it. And honey in the shower, LOL. I have a bathroom full of "food" too.

I like the idea of not using anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat, but really don't think I could stick to it. And honey in the shower, LOL. I have a bathroom full of "food" too.
I'll have a hard time sticking to it too, I might try it for my face at least, but I love things that smell good, I don't wear perfume very often but I love scented body lotion. Certain EOs are safe for human consumption, I might try sticking to those at least, maybe mixed with grapeseed oil in place of body lotion.

So after nearly a week of using this method I'm happy to report sucess! I'm using maybe 70% CO to 30% OO right now which is working out well. I have combination skin, a perfect sort of T-zone oiliness/shinyness which I hate but this seems to work fine with it. I do have a little bit of a break out still going on, but it's subtle and I think it's going away as my skin adjusts. Certaintly my skin is more glowy and soft than it was before at least, yay!

For dedicated OCMers I thought you might be interested in this article about a new "pre-cleansing oil" which works on the principle of "like attracting like" and got a rave review in an excellent beauty column called The New Black.

Just like the "specially made" super expensive CO conditioner, it looks like you can buy a pricey version of the OCM method:

Pre-Cleanse Oil (http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1831802,00.html)

"It's a cleansing oil designed to attract the oil particles that accumulate during the day in your skin like a magnet," says Sally Penfold of Dermalogica. "It works on the principle that like attracts like."

The ingenious thing about Pre- Cleanse is that it's water-soluble, says Penfold. After you have applied the oil (to a dry face, using dry hands), you add water, creating a milky texture. "The product emulsifies and rinses clean off the skin, taking much of the oil and dirt with it," says Pen- fold. "You'd normally only be able to achieve that level of cleansing with a stronger product, something with an alcohol base or soap [alka- line]."So, instead of using a harsh product to cut through the oil(the mistake most people make when they say they "have" to use soap), you're using something more gentle, and getting a deep cleanse, too.

It took me a week to get used to Pre-Cleanse. I didn't really trust the like-attracts-like theory, and I was paranoid my already oily skin would get worse. But the opposite has happened. My skin feels clean (those tiny micro-spots I get in summer have gone), my nose is less shiny - and I'm even taking off my make-up at night. High praise indeed.

Kuchen, I found the ingredient list.

Ingredients:
Dermalogica PreCleanse contains: Caprylic/Capric triglyceride, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, PEG-40 Sorbitan Peroleate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Oils of : Borage Officinalis Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel, Lavandula Hybrida, cymbopogon Schoenanthus, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Decyl Olive Esters, Tocopherol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Citral, Limonene, Linalool.

Not for those who avoid parabens, unfortunately.

Eeee! Yeah, probably best to stick to the original "oils you can eat" formula!

Has anyone tried this method that was previously a successful water only user? I haven't washed my face with anything in over a decade, but I'm so curious about all of your success and wondering if my skin could be improved upon. I don't want to start though and upset the already adjusted oil balance of my skin.

I have started to develop a strange circle of dry skin on my cheek- it about the size of a quarter, maybe a bit smaller and is almost a perfect circle. Just the oddest thing. I've put some coconut oil on just that spot but it doesn't seem to improve at all. Hmmm.... thoughts anyone?

Thanks

Has anyone tried this method that was previously a successful water only user? I haven't washed my face with anything in over a decade, but I'm so curious about all of your success and wondering if my skin could be improved upon. I don't want to start though and upset the already adjusted oil balance of my skin.

I have started to develop a strange circle of dry skin on my cheek- it about the size of a quarter, maybe a bit smaller and is almost a perfect circle. Just the oddest thing. I've put some coconut oil on just that spot but it doesn't seem to improve at all. Hmmm.... thoughts anyone?

Thanks
I just recently started getting what sounds like exact same thing on the side of my neck. The dermatologist said it's eczema, and she was very positive about the idea of using OCM for skin washing. I ended up getting some cream from her that helped and I didn't even have to use it as much or often as she said, I just used it a few times and the OCM seems to be helping too. Good luck.

Thanks, I'll have to research eczema or ask my ND to look at it next time I see her. It seems to be slowly growing bigger, it's so odd how perfectly round it is and how hard the edge is. When I run my finger across my face it goes instantly from soft and moisturized to completely dry. Maybe I'll give the OCM a try. It certainly can't be as upsetting my the natural skin balance as a regular cream of some sort...

You have been using straight castor oil on your nose I think I will try that I still have a few blackheads in the crease of my nose. I been using OCM for over a month now and the skin everywhere else is blemish free except there. So is coconut oil suppose to be more moisturizing the OO or why are you adding it to the mix? Just curious what the benefits would be to see if I need to add some, but I dont have it so I would have to buy some.

I tried this but have got some problems. I have a clear skin but then it does not have that healthy shine.
I have some black heads on my nose so I thought I would try this.
I did not have castor oil so started with EVOO for 3 days fourth day my face had some acnes though not clearly visible but the skin texture was not soft it was uneven. So I stopped. My skin seems to be ok today .
I surely want to try this. Please help.

I've been doing this for almost 2 weeks now. I started off using a Decleor cleansing oil that i had lying around, and then starting mixing up half sweet almond oil, half castor oil, with a few drops of tea tree. I am moisturising with striaght jojoba. Its working very well. Maybe one new (minor blemish), and old blemishes have cleared up. I started off doing it day and night, but it dried my skin too much so now i do it at night and just wash with water and a flannel in the morning ( i think the exfoliation of the washcloth is doing wonders!). My skin is soft and smooth. I have gotten comments that my skin is glowing. I really hope this method continues to work, i am enjoying it a lot so far!

How hot is the water your all using? I"m just wondering if your boiling a kettle or just runnign the tap. I do hate to run the water so long for hot water to come, but a kettle is a pain too I suppose.

I used OCM earlier this year, but could not find the right balance. My skin was soft and glowing, but I was suffering from loads of blemishes.

I went back to a conventional range for ultra sensitive skin, but my skin was very dry and although the blemishes had gone, my skin felt tight and drawn. The fine lines which had definitely softened with OCM have come back with a vengance.

I started OCM again on 2006/08/01.

This time I am using about 1/4 Castor Oil to 3/4 Coconut to wash at night and remove my make-up. In the morning I am just washing with a warm face cloth. For a moisturiser (mostly in the mornings) I am using 1/3 Almond to 2/3 Coconut.

My skin is feeling MUCH better and the lines are already softer.

Does anyone see any reasons why I shouldnt use 1/2 T - 1T of castile soap in my normal batch of my OCM? I just happened to think it would give it a little more of a cleansing boost.

How hot is the water your all using? I"m just wondering if your boiling a kettle or just runnign the tap. I do hate to run the water so long for hot water to come, but a kettle is a pain too I suppose.
I'm just using hot water from the tap, I think boiling water in the kettle would be way too hot and would burn your skin. I don't even use water that's all that hot, I actually started standing under the shower and letting the shower water splash my face, because I couldn't get the washcloth to stay hot on my face for more than a few seconds, and I'm afraid of developing broken capillaries on my face from water that's too hot (Don't know if this is would actually happen, but my skin is so thin and delicate and sensitive and I'm prone to getting that so I'm careful).

I just use hot water from the tap also, and it's not that hot even. Odd, but sometimes I find that more oil washes off easily when my tap water is more on the warm side than hot.

I also use tap water, I also find that fairly warm actually works better than roasting hot.

Min - sorry I cannot answer your question as I don't even know what castile soap is.

As with all things I have found - experimentation is the only real method for figuring out what will work with your particular brand of skin/hair/wonderfulness! I am so happy to be using the OCM with Castor oil only - however around my chin/mouth area I have these horrible white tiny bumps. I know there's a name for them but it escapes me right now. Does anyone have any ideas for that? I have completely gotten rid of my break outs except for those that don't want to go away. I have heard that biori strips make things worse because of the sticky stuff they use. I may try an aspirin mask on just that area some time and that may help - but if anyone has any ideas I am an experimentor! Thanks, Katie

Thanks everyone! I tried it with just hot water from the tap and used jojoba oil. My skin looks great but feels tight and a bit dry even though it looks really well moisturized. Next time I'll try just using warm water and maybe a bit more oil. I only used a few drops this time.

Can't wait to see what this will do to my weird dry patch over time.

I've gotten all enthused and have bought myself the requisite supplies (though I've switched out the EVOO for ricebran oil and a few dashes of wheatgerm oil) and I'm on my second day.

I'm a little worried about the rubbing of the facewasher, because I've got super sensitive skin with quite a few broken capillaries from before I learnt about not washing my face with very hot water.. but we shall see how I go!

Jojoba oil afterwards to moisturise has always been one of my things, and it felt extra nice going on yesterday after the OCM.

well, I have to give a little update:

I tried the OCM for about a week and it made my weird dry patch much worse. I also started breaking out a bit, but this could have been due more to some hormonal stuff.

So, I have gone back to my WO face washing and added skin brushing which has helped a bunch adn my dry spot is starting to improve now. I used to brush all the time, but have gotten out of habit since kids... Anyway, I'm glad I tried it again.

I just started doing OCM about 4 days ago or so. I started with just using castor oil only. I was surprising to find that it could actually feel drying to my skin. Must really have some cleansing properties! I'm going to start adding EVOO in tonight. I used to use EVOO as a facial moisturizer when my skin was super dry and always had good success with it.

I am remaining cautiously optimistic about the OCM. Don't really have any skin miracles happening but nothing bad is happening either, in fact I think the blackheads on my nose are starting to get smaller!

I've been Oc'ing for a week now with EVOO in the night, and in the mornings, with a mix of honey. My skin took pretty well to it. I didn't break out and my face really looked great. At night, I moisturize with olive oil as well.

Right now I have a few bumps, but I think that is due to using too many asprins when I tried an asprin masks.

I'm going to get castor oil and add some of that into the mix as well.

But the amazing thing is this. I don't know whether it's I imagination or what, but I swear my eyelashes look somewhat longer and fuller. And I don't even purposely put the oil on the lashes. But some oil must make it's way to my lashes. I can only imagine the results I'll get with castor oil added.

I can safely say that I am completely done with proactiv now.

An update for me: When I last mixed mine it was about 80%CO/20%EVOO which did not work. I got pimply and terrible...I thought it would work for me because I have T-zone oiliness, but no, it seems I need at least 50/50, but for my next mix I'm going to try more EVOO to see what happens.

My problem is that I get a lot of "shine" which makes me think my skin is super oily, but it's not..just shiny...:ponder: Quite bizzare really...I find myself wanting to powder a lot because the shine really makes me angry. Especially when children who don't know how much it bugs me go "your face is shiny!" Yes. I know. It's very annoying.

Sorry, I'll stop with the ranting now! Instead, I think I'm going to try get help with this.

I can't wait to go buy the other oil and try this:)

I've been using OCM for a few months now and am loving it!

I've been working my way through this thread, and have made it to about page 20....only 18 more pages to go! lol

I'm trying to order some floursack cloths (recommended by one of the mods) on eBay, as I'm finding the facecloths I own are too nubbly and harsh on my skin. I also find they tend to retain at least *some* of the oil after being laundered, and it definitely develops an odour....ew. The fact that they're easier on the skin is definitely something I'm interested in too, as my Mom has rosacea and I'm developing some broken capillaries and getting some redness (this was prior to starting OCM...no correlation).

Someone mentioned in a post earlier on that they were having problems with their OCM mix which contained grapeseed oil. Maybe you're having a reaction to some of the solvents that were used to extract the oil? One of the essential oil websites mentioned that grapeseed oil needs to be extracted using solvents, and that some of these may remain in the oil. Maybe, maybe not, but I guess anything's possible...

And someone else asked the difference between virgin and other types of olive oil... I would far prefer to use virgin OO, as this is from the first pressing and does not require solvents or chemicals of any sort. Also, the first pressing is guaranteed to have those wonderful antioxidants in it. Some of the later pressings/extractions may not contain them or as much of them. Guess it all depends what you're looking for! :)

And now a question from me:

I've read that coconut oil is supposed to be very shelf stable, and doesn't need to be kept refrigerated. Hm. I bought some less than a year ago and had been using it for my hair as well as for my skin (lovely all-over moisturizer and smells yummers!), and during the warmer summer months the oil would liquefy. When it did that I was able to see to the bottom of the container and spotted what looks like it could possibly be mould (!) on the container's bottom! Eep! Has anyone else experienced their coconut oil going mouldy?? I could be wrong and it might not be mould, but I can't figure out for the life of me what it could be...

I tried OCM for about two weeks in July with unpleasant results. I used a mixture of 50% Castor oil/50% EVOO and a drop of Tea Tree and Lavender. I'm not sure what part of this concoction angered my face, but I got an overally bumpy-ness to my skin combined with redness and itchy patches. I have gone to the dermatologist since, partially because of my skin's reaction and also because I'd been having a uncharacterstically bad skin year, and was put on Minocycline. I took that for a month and that handled the redness and itchiness. However, I still have bumps on my cheeks and forehead, which aren't red but are only visible at certain angles. I am using Retina A once a week and a topical anti-bacterial lotion called Klaron. So far it seems to be working well, but I should have seen a dermatologist at the first stages of my skin problem. I thought I could fix the situation with natural remedies or random face washes, however I only complicated my problem and was told that I should have come in much earlier and I would have been cleared up much faster.
Anyway, I have had an uphill battle with my face for the entirity of 2006 and had never had skin problems before that. I would reccommend stopping the problem if irratation occurs, I didn't stop right away and I think that worsened the situation.

I have been using OCM for about 2 weeks now. As anyone who reads my journal knows, I have been battling a horrible face rash, (and no, I won't post pics) for quite a while. It had begun to clear up finally, due to nothing specific that I can pinpoint.

I finally had my appointment with a dermatologist today. I wanted to cancel, but the only way to be able to make appointments there is to get a referral. Now that I've been seen, I can call directly for appointments.

He looked at some photos of when it was pretty bad, not even at its worst and was very sympathetic. When I told him I was using this method now, he was very supportive and interested, as was the intern who was also present. He said he intended to do some follow up research into the method. I was surprised at how much having his support meant.

I have refined the method a little. Because my chin and nose are full of plugged pores, each night, I use about three drops of castor oil on those area first, and massage gently. The first few times I did this, I could actually feel the plugs on my fingers. They slipped out. Too bad there wasn't a satisfying sucking sound as they came free ... or maybe an explosive sound. I then go to a 25% castor oil, 75% olive oil and massage well.

Initially, I used washcloths, but they seemed a little rough. I now use the kitchen cloths from TJ's and they work really well for me. I use filtered hot water, soak the cloths in it, and apply one at a time. So far I haven't had to use each cloth more than once. They have just enough texture to pull out the oil, but not so much that I feel I'm stripping my face. I end with a cool water rinse.

Mostly, I just rinse in the morning whilst in the shower. A few times, I have used a tiny bit of Cetaphil across my nose, if it felt a little extra oily. I do moisturize around my eyes each evening and morning. When I am out of the products I have been using, I plan to switch to olive oil alone for moisturizing.

Oh, and the TJ cloths launder up like a dream, no oily smell or feel. I do rinse them pretty thoroughly in hot water, wearing gloves, each evening.

I wish I could say my cuticles have improved with the extra oil, but not yet.

Anyway, if you've read about this and been afraid to try because your skin is sensitive, I encourage you to give it a try. My skin is incredibly sensitive, and just the other day I got compliments on my bare skin. Nice feeling.

Well, well, well, it looks like a company has caught on to oil cleansing (http://www.dhccare.com/DHC/ProductDetail.aspx?CS_Catalog=DHC%20USA&CS_ProductID=300).

Well, well, well, it looks like a company has caught on to oil cleansing (http://www.dhccare.com/DHC/ProductDetail.aspx?CS_Catalog=DHC%20USA&CS_ProductID=300).

I think they've been around for a while, selling that. (There are a few other lines, too, although it looks like more drugstore brands are trying to jump in now- mainly with mineral oil based things. Ew.)

I've tried a sample of the DHC Deep Cleaning Oil, and actually ordered a bottle. (Hasn't arrived yet. :) ) It's not, in my experience, quite as effective as doing OCM the way I had been (I use a jojoba oil with some EO added) but I don't really like having to wipe stuff off my face (just a personal quirk) so the rinseability of the DHC stuff makes up for the decrease in effectiveness for me.

Well, well, well, it looks like a company has caught on to oil cleansing (http://www.dhccare.com/DHC/ProductDetail.aspx?CS_Catalog=DHC%20USA&CS_ProductID=300).

Lots of companies have cleansing oils, right?
Especially Japanese brands...

http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/products/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=688

I have been using 50% EVOO and 50% CO for about a week or so and my face is RUPTURING!! I have lots of red (painful) bumps and more reddish congestion on my nose (usually I only have blackheads).

I did OCM about 2 months ago for 2 weeks and stopped. My skin didn't improve during that time.

Is it the oil mix? What would you guys suggest for acne-prone, extremely congested, combination skin? Jojoba oil?

Thanks beforehand.

The oil you use is important, they are not the same. I like coconut oil but find it very heavy, nice if I have a long time after OCM to let it soak in; but usually I don't. I now use coconut oil only in the shower, as I will get lots more rinsing action from the water and because I usually will have more time while dressing, etc., to let the coconut oil soak in. I also mix it 50/50 with aloe vera gel and use it all over, shave gel, etc.

Grapeseed oil, on the other hand, is too light for me. I don't need a moisturizer after OCM if I use a moisturizing oil, which grapeseed isn't, for me. Leaves my skin a bit too dry.

My all-time favorite is walnut oil. I use it straight. It removes even mineral makeup (which can be tricky), I use it on eyelids and lips too, removes everything, feels nice, and leaves just enough residue after the hot wash cloth for my face to be clean and lightly moisturized.

I have good luck also with sweet almond oil and apricot kernel oil. I have tried the Shu Uemura oil cleanser, it is nice, but I like walnut oil better. My regular grocery store carries walnut oil.

Sorry, mlsnts, I don't know which is best for your skin, but I have read somewhere that Walnut oil is very mild. Oh, and your hair is absolutely gorgeous! Healthy, smooth, beautiful, and that shine!

ETA - Here's (http://www.waisays.com/fingertip.htm) that reference to walnut oil I mentioned above. The last sentence on the page:

"If your skin is very fragile / sensitive / dry due to Retin A or accutane etc., please try the walnut oil first, since this one is most gentle and soothing."

(Please note that the website this comment comes from does not look like anything that could be called scientific. So this information may well be unreliable. I just googled walnut oil, because I was wondering why I found it so much nicer for my skin and wanted to know more.)

I've just bought a bottle of sweet almond oil! Fingers crossed I hope it works.. I was looking for grapeseed oil but couldn't find any. Wanted to buy jojoba but a tiiiny bottle was $11 :lol:

Thanks for your compliment, Elyce! :flower:

I tried EVOO in my first round of OCM and the first 3 weeks were wonderful and then my skin erupted. I then tried Almond and Caster and that did not work. I gave up on it for a while, but hated the feeling of conventional cleansers, so decided to try again.

I am currently using 1/4 Castor with 3/4 Coconut to wash and 1/3 Almond with 2/3 Coconut for moisture (if needed). This seems to work and I as we are heading into summer now I need the moisturiser less and less - maybe twice a week.

Definitely try different oils.

Thanks for your compliment, Elyce! :flower:

Yep, that shine is awesome! I like your bangs, too.

Hope the almond oil works ~

I just started this about two weeks ago and so far, so good. I'm using 1/2 virgin olive oil, 1/2 sweet almond oil, but I would like to try the walnut oil soon. I'm having great results with it. A couple of days ago, I had applied my jojoba oil as moisturizer and was applying a light foundation of MMU, when I noticed white *specks* on my nose. I put my glasses on (I wear contacts but to see up close or read, I have to use readers, these are really important when applying MMU) and it was little whiteheads (the oil cleansing had removed the 'black' tops of them) coming out on their own! I gently pushed my fingertip up my nose and they all just oozed right out! My nose is the clearest, cleanest and smoothest it has EVER been, that I can remember!

I have read thru several of these posts and noticed that a lot of you started breaking out anywhere from 2 weeks starting with OCM to a month later.

Maybe this is you just purging out all of the bad gunk that lies deep within the face that has been hiding for a long time.

I am planning on trying this method tomorrow evening as I still have to purchase the items.

I do know that the face does purge sometimes.

Okay... so I've been doing OCM for a few months now and I really like it. I recently ran across the baby face cleanser on Lush's website which is essentially a solid version of OCM.
http://www2.lush.com/cgi-bin/lushdb/274
I think this is a great idea! No more runny oils running down the drain (I'm clumsy), no more issues with traveling! So I've been playing around with making my own version but I can't seem to get the consistency right.

Any brilliant ideas or previous attempts out there?

I just went crazy cos the face washers were on sale @Priceline (a health/beauty/pharmacy shop) at 50 cents each! So I bought 3 :lol:

My question is, how often do you change your face washer? As in how many 'uses'?
I'm always afraid of my face washer being ridden by oil and bacteria and thus causing even more breakouts.

EDIT: I did an extremely long, meticulous OCM tonight using the new facewasher (lol) and 100% sweet almond oil. My hand was flaring up w/ eczema so I had to wear a latex glove to massage the oil in.

Surprisingly, because the glove gave my fingers more 'slip', my massage was more successful. I experienced the "oil plugs" for the first (proper) time! :D

So I guess the lesson is.. not to do OCM half-assedly (as I have done before :p). You have to massage quite long/hard to unplug those pores. I think I overdid it a bit though.. as my skin is reddish now o.o
I hope I won't break out or anything..

ohhh, ok I have to try this now! I'm going to get castor oil this weekend. Hopefully this will help my excema prone skin! Thanks for the great post!

can coconut oil be used somewhere? to cleanse? or..?

I am back to conventional skincare again. The oils give me spots - huge angry ones - after about 6 weeks.

I love the feeling of my skin, but long term this is not working for me.

Okay, I seem to have a solid bar type thing that's working good for ocm. A stick of cocoa butter, a big spoon full of shea butter and coconut oil, a little castor oil (I'd leave that out next time I think), plus some EO's... I really like it, I haven't spilled my OCM since I made it :). I'm worried about getting it wet, not sure what that would do, so I've had to keep it in the cupboard, kinda cool though.

I have combination super sensitive skin. It SUCKS! So when I read about this method like three months ago i was like "well its covered in pimples anyway..why the heck now?!"

I mixed up 1/2 caster oil 1/2 EVOO both organic.

I massaged it on my face before I took a shower and used a flannel/soft wash clothe made from old t-shirts and soaked it in steamy hot water, wrung it out and put it on my face while I showered.

Then I massaged it off, cleaned the rag with castile soap and hung it to dry.

My face got better! I was still getting weird bumps on my nose and such...So when I was going to the Indian store for my herbal hair cleanser (shakai,AMLA, Aritha) I saw Neem. I'd heard good things so I began to use it as a sort of "toner" for my face after I washed with oil.

It is clearing up old acne scars! Its kinda fun too because I put it on my face and it is like Slime green! SO my hubby walked in and sqeaked because I scared him!

LOL.

For sensitive, combination, multi-ethnic skin this is the best kept beauty secret...ever.

Keen

I was reading mixed comments about castor oil and that it may potentially clog pores. But I thought, well what the heck, let's just add some and see. So I added 1/4 castor oil, 1/2 EVOO and 1/4 grapeseed oil to my mix.
Now originally I only had EVOO and grapeseed oil and it was still good. But with the castor oil, I think it is even better.
I finally start to feel the oil plugs that you were all talking about. I massaged the oil on dry skin and only after 30 seconds, I feel these grainy plugs come out from my forehead and my nose.
I used to have to squeeze my nose to get rid or yucky blackheads (which are really actually "yellow" heads because it's just sebum but not yet oxized to ) black). But now my nose is clean most of the time since I do the OCM about three times a week at night.

I have been doing this for about two weeks now. (I have been using 1/2 castor and 1/2 EVOO with 2 drops of TTO.)

It has made the dry flakes dissapear, and my skin is much softer, but it didn't help my blackheads/clogged pores. (My face is covered in clogged pores and blackheads. Quite gross really.) It changed the appearance of them, but it seems like they just filled up more? I also got a couple extra pimples a few days ago. Nothing new since then, so we will see. :) As long as I don't break out from it, I will keep it up, because my skin is so much less dry.

Maybe it didn't help me as much since I haven't been afraid to use oil before this. I have that DHC cleansing oil that someone posted, plus their virgin olive oil (what a rip off, I could have just used EVOO.) I also used their olive oil soap, and right now I have Kiss My Face Olive oil/Aloe vera soap in my shower. (Which also dries my face out.... I don't get it.)

Anyway, I am rambling now. :)

Sleepy owl, a lot of people have had success using asprin masks prior to OCM to get rid of blackheads. Not sure if you've tried that or not, but it might be something worth trying.

One asprin mask thread I found in a search: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=30456&highlight=ocm+asprin+mask

Ok, me again.

I went back to conventional skin care, after my second trial of OCM. But I hate how my skin feels with conventional skin care, so I am looking to OCM again.

My big problem with OCM is the huge spots I get about 6 weeks into it. I do wonder if these are just deeply burried muck coming out. Who else has had these and gotten through it. If I know they will clear and go away I will stick with it.

Thanks for your help.

wow my first post!!

I have been an avid reader of this thread and forum for a while.
it is my understanding that acne takes 4 to 6 weeks to come to the surface.
I would say stick with it a bit longer and as mslnts posted earlier make sure you massage well.
I found I broke out for a while but then as i stuck with it the pimples would come and go very quickly.

Wow thanks for the speedy response. Maybe I need to be brave and go and re-read the whole thing again.

Also, experimenting with different oils helps. I get so-so results mixing Castor Oil with EVOO. I get much better results mixing CO with Coconut Oil. I got CRUDDY results mixing castor with this oil blend I found, but I have no idea which oil in it did that. I got huge, cystic-type acne using that blend. BLECH!

I've been doing this method for while now, probably over two months and I will say that I went through a period probably about 3 to 4 weeks in where I broke out a bit more than usual. This really PO'ed me since I was trying to sell the OCM idea to my mom ha.

But anyway, after I got through that (maybe lasted a week or so and really wasn't too bad) I really haven't had any breakouts whatsoever. The only time I ever have any problem is if I just haven't washed the oil off well enough and once it is off it seems to be fine. I follow up the OCM with some rosewater as a toner. I do this every night to remove makeup and then in the morning I just wash with honey.

I feel like an advertisement here, but I have to say this is one of the best things I've ever done for my skin. In this time I washed once with soap (Clinique Mild Face Bar or whatever it is called) and my skin felt horrendous! It was itchy and almost felt like it was burning it was so dry.

I went back to my method and just keep my oil mixed up in an old soap pump dispensing bottle so I really only need to mix it up about once every month to month and a half or so.

I'm just posting my routine in the hopes that it helps someone else get adjusted to it, since it really is great for my skin. :inlove:

I love this method I also had the problem for about a week with break outs. I had only had blackheads before but they were really deep you couldnt get them out. All those cleared up really quickly (I mean the places that did break out were gone by the next day), and I havent had any more break out since. This is the only method I use to wash my face which I do 2 times a day and use OCM both times. I was a PJ before this but I never look at face products any more since I found this method

I absolutely second the idea of oils for cleansing and moisturizing! I get a lot of compliments on my skin, and I am a real oil lover. I have never tried castor oil (but I will now!!!), but have used EVOO with great success. For those who are afraid of oils, I honestly suggest giving them a try. Seriously, I am 51 and people guess my age to be in my mid thirties- sweet! I don't do sun, drink or smoke (just my personal choice) and that seems to help too. Don't be afraid- go for it!
:inlove:

teela1978
Thanks for posting that link! I am going on vacation tomorrow, but I will have to try that out when I get back. :)


curlyjenn
How do you mix the CO with the coconut oil? (I just bought some coconut oil yesterday, and I think I am in love! :D )


I tried mixing some baking soda with some castor oil and massaging that on my face yesterday. It actually made a difference on my blackheads! Then a couple hours later I put some coconut oil on my face. Wow, my skin is so soft! I couldn't help myself and put the coconut all over my body too, and a bit in my hair. (I think I got too much though, because it looked greasy.) Anyway, if it doesn't make me breakout, I think I found the perfect moisturizer! :D

Thank for the responses to my questions.

I have tried EVOO with caster oil, plain sweet almond oil and coconut oil with caster oil - all these mixes I have loved for the first 4 to 6 weeks, there after I have developed these huge spot things (like extra eyes!)

I mixed up somemore coconut, sweet almond and caster oils last night and cleansed that way again.

I think I need to try more sugar scrubs and asprin masks and see if that will speed up the cleaning and healing

I really, really want this to work as I love how my skin feels and how it reduces the depth of my wrinkles. I just need to conquor these dratted spots. I am now trying to think of them as a good thing, because they are the muck coming out!

Sleepy Owl.....I live in Southern Texas, so my coconut oil is usually liquid. lol Whenever it does firm up to it's more solid state, I just scoop out a bit, let it melt in my hand, then pour on a little castor oil. I don't usually mix my oils ahead of time because I like to have more control over the amounts at each cleaning, depending on what my skin looks like it needs. If I need more cleansing, I use more castor oil. If I need more moisturizing, I use more coconut or jojoba or EVOO.

I'm back to OCM after many months off and I'm pleased except for one thing. I came off of summer with a redness and bumpiness to my skin. I don't blame OCM--it's actually improved in the past two weeks, but I want it back the way it was last year. I have very sensitive skin, and I'm blonde with a fair complexion. Even a little red shows up like Rudolph's nose!

I'm using 50/50 EVO/CO. Could someone please suggest a way to help my skin calm down? What I have in the ol' medicine chest: honey, aloe, jojoba, sweet almond oil, lavendar oil, shea butter, vit. E. I don't know where to start, and I'm afraid to mix in just anything.

(I'm using a warm "baby" wash cloth instead of a hot terrycloth washcloth and this helps a little.)

TIA!!!!

K.

I currently am using a mixture of organic virgin coconut oil, organic unrefined shea butter and organic coco butter. I just mixed them together and used a small whisk to whip it up into a soft butter. Since everything I use is organic and unrefined the texture is soft, except for the coco butter, which I just used the back of a spoon and scraped off some flakes and stirred them in. This works wonderful for me. I also use this as my nighttime moisturizer, on my body and in my hair.

I do a modified version I wash my face first with a Chagrin Valley Soap Bar then use the OCM. I use 100% cotton flannel cloths that I cut up from an old pair of Pj's, works great!!

kimo - I have two suggestions. The first one, is that you might try adjusting the ratio of castor oil to EVOO. Less castor oil would make the mixture less drying on your face which I'm assuming may be causing redness (I am very prone to this as well). Or as an alternative you could try a 1/2 EVOO, 1/4 castor oil, and then 1/4 jojoba/almond oil as these two oils are much lighter than both the EVOO and castor oil.

My other thought is that you could try adding honey in as a follow-up wash or replace an OCM with a honey wash as I've found honey to be very soothing on my skin and it seems to reduce redness for me.

Just a couple of ideas, I hope something works for you!

Laura3--Thanks for the tips. I didn't even think about the fact that the redness may have been dryness. I altered my oils so now I have a roughly 33/33/33% mix of EVO/CO/jojoba&almond.

I also added a final step on the nights my face feels a little tight and I'm moisterizing with a smidge of shea butter mixed with aloe. I have to say, with just these small adjustments, I think I'm seeing a little improvement!

Kimo - Both CO and EVOO can cause cosmetic acne, maybe that are the "bumpiness" you described. If I were you I would switch to lighter oils only. I use only jojoba and that works as well as the EVOO/CO mix for me.

SugarBabydoll--Thanks for the tip. I'm seeing a great improvement, but if I need to, I'll swap to the lighter oils. Thanks!

I forgot to add earlier that I had the redness/irritation BEFORE I started up again with OCM, and I was disappointed that things didn't improve, but now my skin is getting better.

K.

I just tried this tonight. I used coconut oil, cold pressed, as I didnt have EVOO or CO. I intend to get some though.

Took about 4 hot rinses to get the oil off, but it was worth it - my skin feels fantastic! I never understood when people said their skin could feel like a baby's bottom, but now I do!

I smoothed on one drop of jojoba afterwards as my cheeks felt tight. I hope this works for me all the time!

( Oh, I have an oily t zone, dry cheeks, a patch of dry skin over my right eyebrow and rosacea, BTW. )

I am using sweet almond oil on it's own and all seems good. I still have the odd spot appearing every couple of days, but they seem to resolve quickly and I am hopping this is just a clear out. I am also doing sugar scrubs and asprin masks once a week each.

I'm quite intrigued by this. I might just go out tonight and buy the ingredients. I read the original post to dd19 and she's going to try it too. I'll let you know what we find.

ETA: Update!
dd19 and I did this tonight. Skin is very smooth and soft. We will definitely do this again.

I haven't posted here yet, but I have been using the OCM off and on for a while since i started visiting here.
Within the last month I picked up a squirt bottle to ease the mixing and application of the mix.
I have used it straight for about 1 month, maybe a bit more. I love my skin. It looks like my pores are tightened, smoother appearance, and I look younger! Ha. Better than an expensive skin cream anyday. (for the moment..)
Anyways I generally do OCM in the AM, a mixture of
-Castor Oil (3/4)
-Rosehip seed oil (1/4)
-Lavender EO (about 4 drops for my bottle)
I think my bottle is around 2 ounces, maybe a bit more. It has lasted over a month, and I still have about a quarter left to go!

I love how much LESS oily my face is during the day, and it still feels clean when I rinse or OCM before bed.
Simplicity..I always thought women's care was supposed to be complicated/ high maintainence. Life is good!

I just wanted to say that I added about 1/8 tsp sea salt to my EVOO/Castor oil mix tonight as an exfoliant. My skin is extremely smooth tonight. I also used the mix (without salt) in the shower last night. A bit more challenging, but my skin felt good.

alligatorbaby23, I'm glad to hear that you are looking younger! That's my hope as well!!

I never thought I would see the day that I would actually put OIL on my face.....but this goes along with my whole "rid my life of chemicals and toxins" plan so this is a good thing.

I am still using just sweet almond with success. I think in winter I will need something richer but for summer here in South Africa it is perfect. Long may this last.

Those of you who use OCM, how often do you do it? If you don't do it everyday how do you wash your face in between?

I'm trying to find a good, natural face care routine and is experimenting with OCM, chagrin valley bars, honey and water only and I could use some inspiration. I like OCM but I find it too timeconsuming to do every day.

TIA!

I just tried this tonight. I used coconut oil, cold pressed, as I didnt have EVOO or CO. I intend to get some though.

Took about 4 hot rinses to get the oil off, but it was worth it - my skin feels fantastic! I never understood when people said their skin could feel like a baby's bottom, but now I do!

I smoothed on one drop of jojoba afterwards as my cheeks felt tight. I hope this works for me all the time!

( Oh, I have an oily t zone, dry cheeks, a patch of dry skin over my right eyebrow and rosacea, BTW. )

Hi Loviatar, court Poetess of HRH and the Moch Clan!

I have the oily t-zone and dry cheeks also. I don't have rosacea, but I do have a dry patch (sometimes, stress) on my left eyelid, near the brow.

I'm having great success using virgin olive oil and sweet almond oil. The coconut oil is much oilier to me and that may be why it took four rinses. Also, it only takes a small amount, like two good squirts , to smooth it all over your face, then gently work in in, especially where your blackhead/whiteheads are. I generally steam twice, for about 5 seconds each time, then wipe off the oil . I've been using grapeseed oil lately as a moisturizer and so far so good.

Yesterday, (Suncat inspired me) I took about 6 drops of grapeseed oil in my palm and added a small dab of clear aloe gel and mixed them and applied to my face. WOW, it went on much smoother and my skin felt like silk. My MMU also went on easier.

Then, right before leaving for church, I took 2 drops of jojoba oil in my palm, added the dab of aloe and ONE drop of glycerin and mixed that and applied to my lips. The glycerin gives it such a good sweet taste. I swear, my lips were still moist by the time we got back from church and I didn't have to apply anything else all day.

ETA: I use OCM about 4 times a week,the rest of the time washing with warm water only, followed by cool water.

I have my Oils mixed in a small pump bottle, so no mixing everytime. I also add a drop or two of peppermint EO, for a zing, to the mixture.

Hi SugarBabydoll :waving: ! I do OCM every night. Do you find OCM to be too time-consuming to do every day because you are mixing the oils fresh each time? I have never done that. I use La Vitton (now Laventine) cleansing oil (a blend of several oils, and they smell wonderful!) so it's very convenient for me to OCM each night. Also, I just rinse with warm water and don't follow with another cleanser. OCM has actually simplified my nighttime routine.

Hi, I first found this forum while I was looking for some skincare tips. I've been doing OCM for 2 weeks now and it really helped improve my skin. I had extremely oily and acne prone skin. Ever since I started OCM, I now look fresh and dewy instead of oily. My acne condition has greatly improved, I no longer get huge, painful pimples. Now they're small and go away in a day or two. The OCM also faded my old acne scars (the pigmentation kind) faster than anything I've tried!

However, the first week was terrible. I developed huge and painful acne all over my cheeks and forehead. So I started to play around with different oils. I don't know whether it's a detox period or whether I've finally found the oils my skin likes, but after that one week my skin cleared up very quickly.

I started with EVOO + CO, which gave me huge pimples, so I don't dare to try EVOO again now. Then I tried virgin coconut oil + CO, I had good results. Now I'm using rice bran oil + CO and this is the BEST combination so far. I can finally feel the white plugs when I OCM!

I used to do it twice a day in the first week because my face got oily really quickly. Now I only do it once a day in the evening. In the morning, I wash my face with either some oatmeal or honey.

Oh I've found one bad thing about OCM since I started. My nails are peeling!!

Could it be because I dip my hands into hot water when doing OCM? Before starting this routine I don't use hot water for anything at all. I bathe with cool water and basically do everything in room temperature water.

Does anyone have this experience? What can I do to protect my nails?

I use a microfiber cloth instead of a regular towel, so I get my exfoliation and make-up removal done in one step. (gently rub, you CAN scrub too hard!)

I started a couple of days ago. My skin was very dry, peeling off and full of weird little red "bumps" that looked like zits but weren't zits and hurt quite a bit...
In these two days the bumps have almost disappeared. The dryness is still there, but I guess it'll take some more time. I always have awful skin in the winter... I guess it's time for Shea butter!

I use a Honey Scrub by Collective Wellbeing: http://www.collectivewellbeing.com/
And afterwards, I put a few dabs of extra virgin olive oil on my hands, put it on my face, and rinse with water.

Works like a charm!

Silvia you don't say what oils you are using. I found that if I had any caster oil in the mix my skin was dry, flakey and had the same red bumps.

Coconut oil on it's own helped, but was too rich for me during the summer - I think I will give it another try in winter.

I am currently using Sweet Almond oil (on it's own) and my skin is lovely and soft and the flakes and bumps have gone.

Thanks for reminding me MerryKat!!!
I use Sweet Almond Oil on its own as well... Just like you, but on the contrary I'm afraid that it may be the cause of my flakey, bumpy skin :\
After cleansing I apply a bit of shea butter, but I know it's not the shea that's causing the problem- I've been using it for the last few years and it never gave me problems.

Hi SugarBabydoll :waving: ! I do OCM every night. Do you find OCM to be too time-consuming to do every day because you are mixing the oils fresh each time? I have never done that. I use La Vitton (now Laventine) cleansing oil (a blend of several oils, and they smell wonderful!) so it's very convenient for me to OCM each night. Also, I just rinse with warm water and don't follow with another cleanser. OCM has actually simplified my nighttime routine.

Hello :)
I guess it's all the wiping to get the oils off but I discovered it's so much easier if I first wipe the oils off with a cottonball and the do the steaming and wiping. I only use jojoba oil with some tea tree oil but I probably should get something to store the oils in so I can pre-mix them. Then it should get even easier to OCM.

i've been using the OCM for the past 2 months. i've been struggling with severe cystic acne for the past year. during this time i've seen a dermatologist. i received antibiotics, steriod injections for active cysts, topical creams, and laser treatment...all of which were not giving me the results i wanted. i could've been seeing a dermatologist for years at this point. i didn't want to be on antibiotics any longer.

on the OCM, the first week i got a couple of zits, but my skin glowed. by the second week, i started to get painful, cystic acne. some acne cleared right away. other acne remained for about a week. my skin did get worse. i still have these enormous cysts on my jawline.

i'm going on month 3 and i'm sticking with this method. i'm starting to see improvements in the places where my skin has cleared up. acne scars that have diminished. pores seem smaller. the interesting thing to note is that i have broken out in places where my dermatologist "treated" with steriod injections. all of the bacteria was pushed around in my face. according to my ND and a homeopathic nurse, the bacteria had no way to leave my body but through my skin.

so, there will be breakouts. some severe, others not so. it is DEEP CLEANSING, not instant clear skin. i started out with the 50/50 ratio. recently, i've increased the EVOO because my skin was too tight and dry. i add a little vitamin E to help with the healing wear i had acne. i'm latina so i need to keep my skin hydrated to help lessen the discoloration.

sorry for the long post. first time poster. i'll keep everyone updated.

stargazer, If I were you I wouldn't use CO at all. If you don't get all of it off it really can clog your pores. Maybe you should switch the EVOO as well. I have pretty severe acne, I could get accutane if I wanted to bot chose not to. I quit the antibiotics as well. Now I OCM with jojobaoil with some tee trea oil in it. Jojoba oil is very good for acneprone skin and tea tree oil is antibacterial. Just make sure you get everything off. After the OCM I use two drops of jojoba oil and one drop of tea tree oil to moisturize. My skin has really started to improve now. I hope you find the things that works for you :)

thanks sugarbabydoll! since reading this thread (and i read all of it), i've been wondering if i should switch oils. i'll look into jojoba oil. yeah, i was wondering if the castor oil made things worse or not. but, i feel like i got things off of my face. my face never looked oily after cleansing.

i hope some other people have feedback too. or, maybe it doesn't work for me. i just don't want to use chemicals. oh, and it would make me sad if i screwed up my face by using this method.

My skin seems to be getting better! I knew it was too early to talk. It's not as dry anymore and the red "bumps" are less noticeable. My skin coloring seems more even and the dilated pores on my nose seem to be shrinking! Sorry if that was TMI, lol.
(I'll just have to wait for PMS and then we'll see if this OCM is really worth it! =D)

I got these recipes from Mother Earth News years ago, it's for Oil Cleansing Method and treatment or moisturizing oils. The oil is for the cleansing step, and can be used in very small amounts as a moisturizer or treatment left on trouble spots:

Remember that your face cloths should be double rinsed and dried on High in the dryer. This way there are no impurities or buggies to get into your open pores. Also, as indelicate as it may sound, never wash your face cloths with anything that has touched your private parts or your underarms or your feet as these areas are ripe with bacteria, microbes, and fungi that your sensitive face skin can't handle.

Patch test oils on inside of forearm for safety.

1. Skin Cleanser, apply Oil mixture without water with clean hands.
2. Massage well, concentrating on areas where pores are clogged or enlarged.
Don't forget around the lips and the neck.
3. If applying over makeup, tissue off the grunge and then add more oil and massage some more.
4. Steam Face with very warm cloth for at least 2 minutes. It is helpful to use two cloths as this holds the heat in better.
5. Wipe face well and splash with cool water.

For moisturizer, 2-4 drops of the oil mixture can be spread over the face and neck.
For treatment of scars, apply 2 times a day.
For acne prone skin, Cleanse and splash with cool water 2 times per day, if moisturizer is needed, use carrier oil only.

Oil Mixture (use ml. for parts and mix in a sterilized container)
1 part Helichrysum Italicuum or Everlasting
1-part Sage
15-Carrier oil A (Explained below)
15 parts-Carrier oil B (Explained below)

Scars and Stretchmarks Treatment Oil
A=Rose Hip Oil, Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Oil
B=Hazelnut Oil, Coconut Oil (76 degree), Sweet Almond or Sunflower Oil

Acne Prone Young Skin, Cleansing and Treating
A=Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Jojoba oil
B=Castor Oil, (Or 5-10 parts Castor and the Rest Jojoba or EVOO)
Make 2 batches, One simple for leave on around the eyes
and one with 1-2 parts Tea Tree Oil for a cleansing and occaisional spot leave on treatment for the rest of the face. Never leave tea tree oil in the eye contour area.

Acne Prone Adult skin or Combination/Oily skin
A=EVOO, Jojoba Oil, Apricot Oil
B=3 parts Castor Oil, 12 parts EVOO,Jojoba, Apricot, or Sweet Almond
If tea tree oil is added (1 part) do not use on eyes.

Normal Skin
A=EVOO, Jojoba, Sweet Almond, Apricot
B=EVOO, Jojoba, Sweet Almond, Apricot, Coconut

Normal to Dry Skin
A=Sweet Almond Oil, Apricot
B=Sweet Almond Oil, Apricot, Jojoba, Coconut
Add 3-5 parts Vitamin E oil

Mature Dry Skin
A=5 parts Rose Hip Oil, 10 parts Sweet Almond
B=Sweet Almond or Hazelnut Oil
---------------------------------------
Eye Leave on Oil for Under Eye Circles
1-3 part Helichrysum Italicuum or Everlasting
15 parts Sweet Almond Oil

----------------------------------------
Exfoliating Salicylic Acid Mask

Crush four regular aspirin well, take out the "skins" of the coating.
Mix with aloe Gel, About a Tablespoon

Apply to T-zone and any other areas needing exfoliation (such as backs of arms etc.)
Leave on for 5-10 minutes.
Remove with damp cloth and gently cleanse.

I am sold on this OCM! I am going to try it! I have gotten really awful blackheads lately and I was wondering if oil would work. I am going to try it tonight! Thank you for all the feedback, and I'll let you know how it works!

I tried this last night and I liked the results, however, I did my normal skin routine afterward too. I used EVOO and CO (about a 65/35 mix). My skin felt really soft afterwards and a lot of healing took place overnight at a faster rate from a bad recent breakout. My 3 year old was rubbing my face while we were falling to sleep--I guess she liked it too! My pores were bigger this morning, but my face had a sort of glow to it. I got to thinking that I have done this before rather by accident years ago. I liked the way AO's herbessence felt on my skin so I rubbed a bunch on my face before a steam. It felt good and I was shocked it didn't cause a break-out! Last night I don't think I put enough on because I didn't have any blackheads becoming dislodged. I'll try again this morning before my shower! I'm thinking is this blend does not work, then I'll try coconut oil.

I have tried cleansing my face with oil this morning and wow - I love it. Now, I do not have EVOO or CO on hand at the moment, but I thought I woudl try the only oil I have home rigth now and that is almond hair oil. My face was so dry when I woke up. I followed the instructions and my face is not itchy or dry and feels nice. I am sure that with the right oil it will be even better. I am so happy I found out about this!

[QUOTE=Gladtobemom]

Acne Prone Adult skin or Combination/Oily skin
A=EVOO, Jojoba Oil, Apricot Oil
B=3 parts Castor Oil, 12 parts EVOO,Jojoba, Apricot, or Sweet Almond
If tea tree oil is added (1 part) do not use on eyes.

Normal Skin
A=EVOO, Jojoba, Sweet Almond, Apricot
B=EVOO, Jojoba, Sweet Almond, Apricot, Coconut
[/QUOTE~
I'm goint to sound really simple and stupid. Does A mean for the first one you would use equal quantities of EVOO, jojoba and apricot oils?

After seeing a link to this discussion in another thread, I've been trying this for 3 days with a small palmful of cooking-grade light olive oil (not EV), and a couple of drops of tea tree oil that has lavender EO in it.

I'll massage that into dry skin for a couple of minutes, then get a hot washcloth and put that on my face until it isn't hot anymore, and repeat a couple of times. Then I'll scrub it off and rinse the washcloth, and repeat a few times.

This method seems to be working great for me--no new blemishes since starting it. I've been doing it once a day, usually in the morning. One thing I'm really noticing is much smaller and less noticeable pores.

It is very weird to have that oily feeling as you are rubbing around oil all over your face--it feels wrong, but it sure works so far!

The lists of oils really mean that these are good candidate oils, you can mix or use individually.

For OCM, an oil that has solvent qualities is necessary to allow it to mobilize sebum and makeup .

For OCM oil mixture, (not Scar mixture) All the oils in A have that quality. All the oils in B have either treatment or emollient qualities. Many oils are good for everything. Some oils, like Unrefined Coconut or Hazelnut oil just won't melt makeup.

You can use any combination of oils that work for you. Just try to make sure you use half of your oil from the A list. This will make sure your makeup will get melted.

There are some oils that are NOT appropriate for acne prone skin. Rose Hip oil is one of them. Rose Hip oil is fairly viscous and it has lots of anitoxidants and will melt even the thickest makeup--great for delicate skin with low natural oil production.

Castor Oil has lots of good qualities, many people say it's a magic oil because of it's healing power. It increases the solublility of other oils (makes more of the oil come off your face with the warm water). This makes it NOT appropriate for Mature skin because it can cause unacceptable loss of protection for skin that can't produce enough protection for itself.

Another note, There is a significant difference between cold pressed EVOO and Olive oil that is extracted with heat and/or steam. EVOO has high quantities of Esthers and has a lower pH.

Your skin is slightly acidic, a thin film of slightly acidic oil is called the skin's Acid Mantle. This acid mantle has a complex interaction with the nerve responses of the skin.

Stripped of the Acid Mantle, the skin will overproduce oil to try to correct the pH. This is why cleansing with soap (alkaline) can cause the skin to rebound and rev-up oil production. This is why toners are mildly acidic--in an attempt to counteract the alkaline cleansers.

I love this!
As for my skin, the skin I on my forehead would always break out horribly. I have tried about everything but whatever I did. It is always dry and flakey and ugly.
But I did a OCM 4 times and the problem has already cleared up considerably!!!
I will defenately keep on doing this.

Sorry, double post.

Hi everyone! I've just started doing OCM again about a week ago and I'm determined to keep it up for at least two more weeks. I want to REALLY try it out before I decide whether or not I like it. Before I started I had a medium breakout but it hasn't gotten any worse or better from doing the OCM.

Anyway, my questions. The constant stretching and pulling of the skin when you are massaging the oil into your face, won't this cause pre-mature aging? It seems a stupid question, but I am curious.

Also :lol: whenever I OCM, I get these grainy sort of things all over my hands, they are a gray-ish white (oh, pretty). I'm guessing they are plugs from my pores? (They are very cool to me though because it seems like I'm getting a lot out of my pores, lol) Should this happen only during the first couple of days/weeks?

My last question, the towels I have been using for wiping off the oil are rough.
My face is always red and irritated afterwards and it feels awful when I am wiping the oil away. But I am afraid to dab away the oil because that dosen't seem to me like it would also pull away the grainy plug things or the dirt. Just rinsing seems the same to me because the oil would stick to the plugs and dirt.

I'm sorry if these questions have already been asked.

Hi Aurora --
Maybe the stretching and pulling of skin that you are feeling might be helped if you used a bit more oil when you wash? I went through a phase where my skin was dry and my usual 3 squirts resulted in my hands sort of dragging and pulling over my skin. 4 squirts for a while gave me enough that I wasn't pulling anymore, then when the dry phase subsided, I went back to 3.

I wash all of my oil off with water, so I don't have to rub too hard with my towel. I sort of do a patting/blotting that gets the water off my face. Do you wipe the oil off rather than wash it off?

WAAAAH!
6 days in and my skin hasn't looked this good since I first hit puberty!
I swear, this truly IS the holy grail of skincare!!!

My favorite cloths are plush cotton terry (the kind where one side has the loops clipped. I use the soft side on my whole face and neck area.

Then I rub my forehead, lips, and chin with the other side to help exfoliate a little more.

I've also used flannel squares that I made myself. That's what my eldest son prefers. He has very fair pink/white skin and he doesn't have acne anymore, but his skin is still quite delicate.

I use the microfiber cloths only once a week or so to really exfoliate. My daughter uses one every other day.

I have no idea if someone thought of this before but this is something I just wanted to share:

Oil-scrub.
I have an extremely dry and sensitive skin on my forhead and yes, it was getting flakey again, despite the ocm. So I needed a scrub.
This is a recipe for people with sensitive skin

*1 teaspoon of brown suger (you can do with less)
*a bit of oil (i used sweet almond)
*a little less then a bit of aloë gel

I mixed this together, wetted my face with some luke-warm water, scrubbed and rinsed and to my surprise my skin wasn't feeling dry at all afterwards. The oil kept it moisterized.
Great! :D

Big thanks again to Stephanie!!!

Hmm... undecided at the moment.

Have been following OCM for 2 weeks now, using jojoba oil with a bit of tea tree and or eucalyptus in. At first my skin felt great, but over the past couple of days I have exploded in the hugest and (sorry to be gross) pussiest spots ever. I've switched from using a muslin cloth as it cooled down really quickly, meaning that I don't think it was melting all the oil off, and started using a normal wash cloth which retains the heat (and steam) better).

I've bought some castor oil today and am going to fiddle about with my mix at the moment.

I'm not going to give up just yet, as I am aware that lots of people had this initial problem as OCM is deep cleansing and so it drags all the rubbish to the surface.

I will keep people updated.

*1 teaspoon of brown suger (you can do with less)
*a bit of oil (i used sweet almond)
*a little less then a bit of aloë gel

I tried this last night. Now I didn't have aloe, so I just did the first two, but used EVOO, since that's the only oil I had. At first my face burned a bit and did get red (just like from anything I try on it), but after it calmed down and dried, it felt very soft and not dry at all. I didn't even have to put on it any additional oil. This morning it still feels that way. It might work for me. I suppose the aloe (once I get it) should help even more. I have a very sensitive dry face and am really afraid to experiment with it, but this seems to be in the right direction. Thank you.

I am wondering if this is going to be suitable for me as i am 46 and my skin is not too bad but i do have the t-zone of a teenager! i suppose i have combination skin but i'm not sure which oil i should start with, i do have blocked pores on my nose and chin and some enlarged pores on my cheeks.
The oils i have in at the moment are: sweet almond oil, jojoba, meadowfoam, camellia and broccoli seed oil and virgin coconut oil.
any advice regarding which to use would be great, i am thinking about getting some castor oil which i think is "deep" cleansing and i think thats what i need but would any of the oils i have do the same job of getting gunk out of my pores?

Also if you get any aloe I have been using a squirt of aloe and a few drops of oil on my face afterwards as recommended by someone (sorry I cant remember who) and Im really loving the results. My face has a youthful glow to it.

I just started OCM and like it. my cheeks are dry and the center part of my face, nose, forehead area is oily. but so far this is working out to be good.

I have now been doing OCM for over a month. I will never go back to soap! I use it on my whole body before showering. My skin feels soooo much better. Plus, every winter I have always had to wear ointment and socks on my hands at night because of the cracking and bleeding, not this year! My hands are so soft and not cracking at all from applying it to my face! I have done some changes as to the method for me. I do a cold cream type method in which I don't use hot water just a dry wash cloth every morning and night followed up with some toner. Then I do the hot water method to deep clean in the shower every other day. This has really balanced my complexion. Using hot water all the time made my skin way too dry and flaky. My recipe is 3/4 coconut oil, 1/4 tsp each of flax, evening primrose, comfrey and calendula herbal oils, vitamin E, and a couple drops of lavender eo. If the temp outside is close to freezing, then I add 1 tsp of avocado oil to balance out extra dryness from the furnace. OWM RULES!!!!!!

I tried OCM last winter, and it was so-so. I didn't have glowing skin, and I didn't have any miraculous loosening of gunk in my pores like so many others report. I went back to my old routine which was also so-so but didn't take as much effort.

My skin is acting up again, so I thought I'd give OCM another try. The first time I used it, the hard plugs in the pores near my hairline just slid right out! I was amazed.

My mix:

4oz EVOO
2oz Grapeseed oil
1/2oz CO
1/2oz vitamin E oil (to help with scarring from acne)
5 drops each of rosemary and juniper EO
10 drops lavendar EO

I have acne-prone skin that is somewhat oily but also prone to dryness on my forehead and nose.

I followed it with a toner containing the following:
2oz rosewater
1tsp ACV
6oz witch hazel
1tsp honey

I think my skin might just like this routine.

i've just started on OCM. Today is Day 2. So far, skin has been good. No breakouts, and on top of that, I did experienced some plugs coming loose when I OCM. I really hope to have this work !

I have been doing OCM with just EVOO (because that's all I had) for a few weeks now and while my face finally didn't feel dry, it didn't do much cleansning at all. Finally yesterday I was at the farmacy and bought a bottle of Castor oil. I mixed the two today for a OCM and wow what a difference. I will try for a few days and see how I react to it.

I still have break out a lot and don't have a nice complexion. I get red from everything including water, but at least with the oil my face doesn't feel so irritated (as long as I keep water away). I hope one day I can find something that will improve my face even more.

I just started my OCM some weeks ago. I did feel the gunk loosen up, and that was about it.. It felt nice right after, and maybe 2-3 days after. After that I dry out!

I only used EVOO the first two times. Then I bought Castor oil and added that.
Still same drying result.

So I decided to use Almond oil, vitamin E and jojoba as moisturizer..Thats also drying, OR I havent been giving it time to work.

How often do you OCM, and how often do you use oil as a moisturizer?

(Im sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldnt get throught all of the pages!!)

I'm trying OCM again; I am using EVOO and castor oil, with a bit of vitamin E. This time, I have a special washcloth dedicated to this. Last time, I just washed off the oil with a bit of soap.

The reason I'm trying it again is that my skin has gotten very dry and flaky. I'm not sure the OCM is helping very much, but at least it's slightly less flaky. Also, I have the strange feeling that my pores are smaller, though I'm not sure if it's actually the case.

How often do you OCM, and how often do you use oil as a moisturizer?

I'm going to try and do an aspirin mask 3/4 times a week and 'clean' that off with OCM, moisturizing with coconut oil afterward.

Cross posting from my journal, because I wanted to weigh in with my OCM success and didn't feel like saying it all again! (Newbie here- Is that OK? If not, moderators please feel free to remove this post!)

.....when I first popped in and started reading, I was extremely skeptical. Slather OIL on your face to clean it? That's just insane.

By the time I had read through the tenth page, though, I was trotting back to the bathroom to try it. I figured, what the heck, I can always wash it off with soap if it's gross. (This, incidentally, was the same thing that was going through my mind when I tried oiling my hair for the first time last week.) It does make sense, though, that oil would lift away oil.

Anyway, I tried it. WOW! It's incredible, but my skin does not feel oily at all! This is so counter-intuitive, it's crazy.

I didn't have the castor oil the thread said to use, and I didn't like the olive oil in my hair because it was too heavy so I didn't want to use it on my skin. I do, however, have that jar of 100% unrefined virgin coconut oil... So I scooped out about 1/4 teaspoon or so and rubbed all over my face, really massaging it in. I ran hot water over a washcloth and put it on my face for a few seconds. (That felt really good!) When it started to cool, I wiped off the oil. It took a couple times through the washcloth/wiping cycle, maybe four times, to get the oil off. Dunno, twice may have been enough but the hot washcloth felt so good!

My skin feels clean. I just can't get over that. It feels clean after washing with oil. Not greasy- if anything, a bit tight. Refreshed, smooth, tingly, and radiant.

I get the occasional pimple, but overall, I've never had a problem with soap, except that my face always feels dry and I have to put on moisturizer after washing, and it invariably makes my skin look dull. Cleaning with coconut oil leaves my skin nice and soft, and I don't need extra lotion. I'm hoping that all the little hardened oil plugs in the pores on my forehead will pop out. A couple did today and though a little gross, it's also fun, like peeling a sunburn.
I'm going to try this for a couple weeks and see how it goes, but so far, I'm loving it!

I, too, started the OCM today with EVOO and CO and my skin feels lovely. I recently started selling some cosmetics and was going into debt and going insane. I am back to natural. THANKS SO MUCH, STEPHANIE!!! My skin thanks you. My checkbook thanks you. You are an angel!
strawberryfine

Just an update on my OCM results so far. I started it on Valentines Day so I think this is day 9 and I am very happily amazed with the results. I am using EVOO and Castor and occasionally a little jojoba to moisturize afterwards.

I have very fair, light skin and had cystic infectious acne when younger that required oral antibiotics for years and regular dermatologist visits starting at age 11, and I have always had just little bumpy plugs under the surface of my skin since I've been in my 30's to early 50's (now).

Since starting OCM on 2-14-07, the bumps are gone and my skin is getting smoother everyday. I am thinking of trying some mineral make up soon. I do use sunscreen and am getting ready to try the titanium dioxide-aloe gel recipe (thank you, Suncat).

I am really surprised and pleased with the way this is working for me. My skin is actually starting to look, dare I say it, well, pretty.

Thanks Stephanie for the in-depth article and thanks to everyone else who has posted their testimonials about OCM.

I highly recommend OCM.

strawberryfine

I, too, just started this a couple of days ago, and OMG, I LOVE IT! I never would've thought of putting oil on my face since I have oily skin to start with. But, boy, did the oil come off with that hot wash cloth! I think there was this commercial that says something like "squeaky clean is for floors", and that's exactly how I feel with the OCM -- clean yet not squeaky. Thanks, Stephanie!

I just wanted to give my update:

I've been using OCM since November 2006. I was using 50/50 mix of EVOO and CO. I would then put on a layer of shea butter with a couple of drops of lavender or tea tree EO on post OCM. Had excellent results! I noticed a decrease in wrinkles!

I just made a new batch this week, and increased the amount of CO. I find now that I don't need the shea butter. I've used this since Monday, and I cannot believe the improvement in my skin's appearance and feel! It is so much smoother and lines are less noticable. Occassionally I will get a red spot or breakout, but not enough for me to get upset about - and usually this occurs if I haven't been faithful to my once a day cleaning (sometimes I will use only water).

I find that using OCM, my skin is not oily at the end of the day. I OCM every morning after my bath / shower, when my pores are open from the steam. About twice a week, I'll add a teaspoon of sea salt to the oil, and use this as an exfoliant.

I highly recommend it! My 19 yo daughter is also using it, with good results. Personally, I will never go back to soap and will never ever purchase those expensive skin care cleansers and creams. I am very very happy with OCM.

Stephanie, I thank you for enlightening me!
:inlove: :flowers: :inlove: :flowers: :cloud9: :flowers: :inlove: :flowers: :inlove:

I've been OCM-ing (modified) for a month now, so I decided it was time I chimed in with my verdict! This is now officially the BEST thing I've ever done for my skin. :D Before I say anything else, I'd just like to offer my sincerest thanks to Stephanie, the original poster, and ALL of the other LHC members who have posted to share their knowledge and experiences! My skin and my wallet thank you too. (Please accept my apologies in advance for how long winded I know this is going to get.)

I discovered LHC via this thread, via Makeup Alley - can't remember how I found that site, but I was looking into using safer, more natural products. A brief sum-up on the history of my skin:
Pretty much fine all the way through high school, perhaps the odd premenstrual zit or a few blackheads, but essentially clear. Then I hit my early 20's...and let's just say it's been an uphill battle for the last decade. It started with just more congestion and breakouts, but as time went on, it got worse. Blackheads (all over nose), whiteheads (a lot, very deep, but only on my chin), mild to moderate persistent acne (largely on my chin as well), dryness, sensitivity, seb derm, and most recently, mild rosacea. In that time, I probably saw a total of 4 dermatologists and 8 or 9 facialists in two countries, respectively. I never took oral antibiotics, but I was prescribed topical meds, and I also got regular glycolic peels for a while. I tried every skincare line under the sun, from the most to the least expensive, from complicated routines like Eve Lom, to just using Cetaphil morning and night. My most recent foray was with Dan's Skincare Regimen (acne.org). Using the BP was effective at keeping the zits at bay, but I couldn't eliminate the excessive dryness, flaking, and redness...and it wasn't doing anything for the rest of my complexion. Sensitivity continued to increase (esp. at the onset of the rosacea). The funny thing is...when I was in high school, I didn't do much to my skin. So I always thought it was ironic that now, in my 20's, I was taking such "good care" of my skin, but it was reacting so badly. Ha. I know better now. ;)

At the start, I was very nervous about the potential "purge" I'd heard about...but figured it would be worth it, and that I'd stick it out no matter what. My skin did purge a little in the second week, but thankfully, nothing like I'd expected. Just a few "micro-zits" here and there...most of which didn't come to a head, and which would disappear within 24 hrs.

I was also very nervous about the fact that my skin is very sensitive, and will not tolerate steam, hot water, or washcloths. LOL I was worried that I may not be able to do this, but I successfully manage using no steam, warm water only, and cotton wool pads. I have no problem removing the oils and my skin still benefits. Just thought it worthwhile to mention for other sensitive types who think they might not be able to cleanse with oils. (Although I will say that I don't use heavy oils such as Castor, which really does require hotter water and a bit of scrubbing).

I had to do a little tweaking in terms of oils in the 3rd week, as I started out using just jojoba oil for both cleansing and moisturizing, and my skin started getting a little dry around the eyes and cheeks. (ETA: I now use two drops of jojoba oil instead of one to moisturize, and I no longer have dry patches.) Other than that, it's been nothing but successful. My blackheads are virtually gone, my whiteheads are slowly but surely coming to the surface and out (without getting infected), I've had no major zits (even my usual premenstrual breakout was just two small red bumps that went away in less that two days with twice-daily tea tree oil application). The plugs continue to come out (so much more than I thought would, I can't believe how congested my skin was). I've developed the "lit from within" look too - DBF has commented several times that I'm "glowing" (gotta love him). It gets better every week. I'm absolutely thrilled. :)

My routine:

Morning -

mist with distilled water
moisturize with two drops of jojoba oil

Evening-

OCM with jojoba oil
mist with distilled water
moisturize with two drops of jojoba oil

(spot treat with undiluted Tea Tree oil, over jojoba, where necessary)

Weekly-

Milk and Honey Mask
(organic powdered milk and organic raw honey)


Note: I think it may also be worth mentioning that at the same time I started OCM-ing, I did also change quite a few other things about my lifestyle that have probably also contributed to the vast improvement in my skin. I quit smoking, started drinking loads of water, started eating better (incl. cutting out refined sugar and caffeine), and changed all of my skin care, hair care, makeup, and household cleaning products to more natural products (i.e., no SLS/SLES, parabens, petrochemicals, etc).
I also now religiously wash my bedsheets, bath towels, and makeup brushes once a week, EVERY week.

That being said, the effects of OCM for me have been undeniable...my skin looks great, and I actually ENJOY taking care of my skin now. :D

Again, thank you all so much, and I'm really sorry about the run-on post! (OCM deserves a long rave, though, don't you think? ;) ). Will update if anything new arises.

I've been OCMing for about a month now, using just plain EVOO and following with an asprin toner. So far my skin is nearly as clear as when I used the Aveeno Acne bar (but without the tight, dry, insanely itchy skin that came with using that bar!) I'm going to have to buy some castor oil and make a mix to try, but so far I'm really liking this method.

But I am having a problem: the oil is really hard to wash off my eyebrows and eyelashes. Steaming and lightly massaging get rid of the excess oil on my skin, but I don't want to be rubbing so much on my eyelids. And because I have such a hard time getting the oil off my eyes (OCM really makes a great, gentle makeup remover and I don't want to have to stop using it on my eyes) and because I wear glasses, my long lashes leave streaks on my lenses everytime I blink! So I end up cleaning my glasses every 5-10 minutes after washing until bedtime! Overnight the oil goes away, but until then the streak-causing oil drives me up the wall.

What do all of you do to remove the oil from you lashes and brows? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I actually use a little bit of black soap from NASABB after OCM to remove the traces of oil around my eyes, and well, for most of my face. I still get the benefits of OCM, but also the oil is removed more quickly and efficiently (to me). I really hated that slightly oily feeling, but my skin never looks good when I use regular cleansers, so I modified this to add a little bit of cleanser afterward.

I have been doing OCM with castor oil, and my skin hasn't gotten any better - in fact it's much worse than it used to be. I used to never get breakouts anywhere other than my nose and forehead - but now I have tons of tiny little bumps on each side of my jawline and on the skin below my left eye.

I'm thinking castor oil alone is not the best method for my skin. However I have no idea where to start next - I have some different oils but it seems so many people like competely different ratios and mixtures I'm kind of overwhelmed as where to start and what to try first.

The oils I have are castor, jojoba, coconut, and EVOO. The essential oils I have are Lemon, Lavendar, Rosemary, Dalmation Sage and Virginiana Cedarwood. I also have shea butter, vitamin E oil, and aloe gel.

Could someone share what OCM mixtures work for them with these types of ingredients?

I've tried to cleanse with castor/jojoba and it didn't seem effective enough at removing the makeup. I tried castor/coconut, but that was a disaster for me that broke me out. The coconut was too heavy. I much prefer the castor/EVOO mixture at roughly 40/60. Too much castor makes it hard to remove, but not enough castor makes it not cleanse enough for me. I follow up with a drop of jojoba for moisturizing.

curlyjenn, thank you for replying! I'm going to try this ratio tonight. :flowers:

Okay, after reading almost all of this thread (quite an endeavour, let me tell you!), I am going to give this a try. :) I'm almost out of my Oyin African Black Soap and Honey cleanser and do not feel like paying the huge international shipping charges once again. Instead, I've ordered some cold-pressed castor oil and vitamin E oil, and have set aside a bottle of EVOO and tea tree essential oil.

As soon as everything arrives, I'll mix some up (I'm thinking 75/25 Castor/EVOO, with 1-3 drops Vit E oil and 1-2 drops tea tree) and give it a go!

I have been using OCM for a few months now, and my face has never looked better.
My current and favorite mix so far is about half Castor (that I got from the natural isle at the grocery store) half Jojoba oil, and about 5% tea tree oil. (Yes, I know that doesn't add up to 100%, but you get the idea. lol)
The tea tree oil is key. My face did feel and look better when I started OCM, but it is when I added the tea tree oil when it really cleared up.
I also put some on my face as a moisturizer before bed, and that allows the TTO to really work I think.

I had my DH put some of the mix on my back before bed one night, and my back pretty much cleared up for a week! It started breaking out again, so I had him put some on my back again last night, and it looks better already today.

Now, if I could get rid of the blackheads... (they do look better, but not even close to gone.)

The tea tree oil is key. My face did feel and look better when I started OCM, but it is when I added the tea tree oil when it really cleared up.
I also put some on my face as a moisturizer before bed, and that allows the TTO to really work I think.


Is that the neat tea tree EO you use or the stuff you can buy thats meant specifically for dabbing on spots that never seems to do a right lot?

Ok folks, this article/thread has convinced me to give OCM a try. I started the great experiment last night with a castor oil/sweet almond oil 50:50 blend with two drops of helichrysm italicum EO in it. My skin looked better this morning than it has in a coupla weeks, and I used the oil treatment again this morning. I'll be back with results in a week or two.

Thanks for adding the information on Tea Tree Oil, Sleepy Owl. I may just add a drop or two to my mix.

Ok folks, this article/thread has convinced me to give OCM a try. I started the great experiment last night with a castor oil/sweet almond oil 50:50 blend with two drops of helichrysm italicum EO in it. My skin looked better this morning than it has in a coupla weeks, and I used the oil treatment again this morning. I'll be back with results in a week or two.

Thanks for adding the information on Tea Tree Oil, Sleepy Owl. I may just add a drop or two to my mix.

If you find after a couple of days that your skin seems a little dry, tight, or overly sensitive anywhere, you might want to cut the castor oil down. 50% castor oil is a high percentage. Even DD with cystic acne cut it down to 25% after a week. She does add the tea tree also.

Here are the formulas that I based my mixtures on (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=955447&postcount=627).

Hello everyone, I'm so glad to have found this thread. OCMing is something I find very facinating!
Ok, I've OCMed a few times in the past and I used pure virgin coconut oil and my skin felt nice but slightly oily. Today for the first time I tried 25% CO and 75% EVOO and my skin feels drier and a bit uncomfortable. I have to say that I prefer the coconut oil, it smells amazing and just feels wonderful!
My questions are;

1. Is virgin coconut oil good for OCM?
2. Will it block my pores?
3. Is it okay to follow the oil cleansing with a natural soap or would that ruin the benefits of OCM?
4. Does anyone use this method on their bodies? If you do, do you think coconut oil is a good oil for it or will it give me bacne??!! LOL!!

Thanks a lot! This thread is brilliant!!

Hello everyone, I'm so glad to have found this thread. OCMing is something I find very facinating!
Ok, I've OCMed a few times in the past and I used pure virgin coconut oil and my skin felt nice but slightly oily. Today for the first time I tried 25% CO and 75% EVOO and my skin feels drier and a bit uncomfortable. I have to say that I prefer the coconut oil, it smells amazing and just feels wonderful!
My questions are;

1. Is virgin coconut oil good for OCM?
2. Will it block my pores?
3. Is it okay to follow the oil cleansing with a natural soap or would that ruin the benefits of OCM?
4. Does anyone use this method on their bodies? If you do, do you think coconut oil is a good oil for it or will it give me bacne??!! LOL!!

Thanks a lot! This thread is brilliant!!

Hey, geministar! I think that a lot of people here use a modified version of the original OCM (EVOO + CO) - it seems that most have to experiment to find what works best for them. But I'll try to answer your questions (and hopefully some of the others will chime in as well for you :) ):

1. Is virgin coconut oil good for OCM?
There are a number of people on this thread who've mentioned using this successfully. I haven't tried it on my face yet, but I'm planning to soon!

2. Will it block my pores?
My guess would be no - as long as you are removing it thoroughly after cleansing, you shouldn't have a problem. Coconut oil is also anti-fungal/bacterial. However, YMMV - some people here have broken out from coconut oil - you never know for sure until you give it a try (I'd say for at least a week or two).

3. Is it ok to follow the oil cleansing with a natural soap...?
There are a lot of people here who do this as well - I personally don't, because I don't find it necessary (I currently use jojoba oil on my face, which I find is light and easily removed). If your skin still feels very oily after cleansing you may want to try this - I think as long as the soap doesn't contain any strong detergents, it wouldn't be the end of the world. But maybe give it some time using the oils alone, and then see how your skin reacts?

4. Does anyone use this method on their bodies?
Yes, I do! And I use virgin coconut oil! :D I have a tendency myself to get a little bit of bacne now and again, but this has not exacerbated it at all for me. In fact, my skin is much calmer and less itchy, as well as being very soft now. I apply the coconut oil on wet skin in the shower, and then remove the excess oil with a baby washcloth (it's actually a baby washcloth "mitt" that looks like a duck, LOL. I found the actual washcloths to be too tiny for the shower - kept slipping out of my hand). When I get out of the shower I just pat dry, no extra moisturizer needed. I would definitely recommend giving this a try if you're interested...it's worked very well for me. :)

The only other thing I can suggest would be reading through this entire thread at least once, to get a better idea of what you might want to try. Also, you could use the search function for "Coconut Oil" - multiple threads should come up.

HTH!
-Rebecca

Oh Rebecca you're a star!! Thank you so much for replying me and for all your advice. I will give OCM a try exclusively for 2 weeks and see what happens and I'll definately try OCM for my body with the coconut oil. I just LOVE the smell so much and I definately like the idea of just patting dry and getting dressed without applying lotion!

Thanks again! Off to read the whole thread now :o)

No problem! :D And those are my favorite things about the coconut oil too - the lovely smell, and not having to apply lotion after showering! I hate having that slimy, sticky feeling all over and then having to put on clothes. The coconut oil doesn't do this at all - just soft skin.
Good luck, let us know how it goes! :)

If you find after a couple of days that your skin seems a little dry, tight, or overly sensitive anywhere, you might want to cut the castor oil down. 50% castor oil is a high percentage. Even DD with cystic acne cut it down to 25% after a week. She does add the tea tree also.

Here are the formulas that I based my mixtures on (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=955447&postcount=627).

Thanks for the input! I figured that starting 50/50 would give me a good idea of where to go after a few days, and that I'd adjust from there. I think I'm already leaning toward the sensitivity a bit. Today my face feels a bit...burny? Not really burning, but I'm much more aware of it, if that makes sense. Tonight I'll add a little more of the sweet almond oil to the remaining mix I have and see if that helps.

I have been using OCM for a few months now, and my face has never looked better.
My current and favorite mix so far is about half Castor (that I got from the natural isle at the grocery store) half Jojoba oil, and about 5% tea tree oil. (Yes, I know that doesn't add up to 100%, but you get the idea. lol)
The tea tree oil is key. My face did feel and look better when I started OCM, but it is when I added the tea tree oil when it really cleared up.
I also put some on my face as a moisturizer before bed, and that allows the TTO to really work I think.

I had my DH put some of the mix on my back before bed one night, and my back pretty much cleared up for a week! It started breaking out again, so I had him put some on my back again last night, and it looks better already today.

Now, if I could get rid of the blackheads... (they do look better, but not even close to gone.)

I read this and went out and bought some TTO; you know what, it really makes a difference. OCM did a good job preventing breakouts, but the tea tree oil not only prevents, but clears them up! My mix is 30 percent castor oil to 70 percent sweet almond (neither my skin nor my hair likes jojoba) and a capful of tea tree oil. Pity the TTO smells so strongly.

I have been OCM now for a while and truly love it. I use about half (maybe a bit less) Castor Oil and half EVOO. After I clean my face, and sometimes in between I put a few drops of coconut oil instead of a moisturizer. I haven't tried to add the tea tree oil, mainly because I absolutely can't stand it's smell. =(

I would not go back to anything else. Finally my face is not red and doesn't burn and itch. I also put the oil on my lips when cleaning my face (after all, all the oils I am using are edible, LOL) and my lips love it!

I am wondering what you all do when traveling - have you found a way to keep up the routine? I always end up taking a regular face wash because a) you don't know if the water will be hot enough and b) I don't want to bring tons of extra washcloths but don't want to use one more than once. But of course I always hate going back to regular cleansers for travel!!

I am wondering what you all do when traveling - have you found a way to keep up the routine? I always end up taking a regular face wash because a) you don't know if the water will be hot enough and b) I don't want to bring tons of extra washcloths but don't want to use one more than once. But of course I always hate going back to regular cleansers for travel!!

Good question! I'd like to know this too :o)

I always have one of those tea cup heaters in my bag. If the water's not hot enough, I just heat some up. I very often heat up bottled water for my face an d tooth brushing because the water in some places is pretty yucky. Or--I just bring it to a full boil for a couple of minutes and let it cool.

In my journal, I've got my full up list for longer travel. I was asked to post it, so I did. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1052599&postcount=27)

I always have one of those tea cup heaters in my bag. If the water's not hot enough, I just heat some up. I very often heat up bottled water for my face an d tooth brushing because the water in some places is pretty yucky. Or--I just bring it to a full boil for a couple of minutes and let it cool.

In my journal, I've got my full up list for longer travel. I was asked to post it, so I did. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1052599&postcount=27)

Oh wow! Thanks so much for the hot water idea! It'll come in handy especially when visiting tropical countries. I couldn't get into the link you posted because I still have under 100 posts :o( Not to worry, only a few more to get there now :o)
So when you do travel do you take a bunch of face cloths? Or do you take a few and wash as you use?
Thanks again!

Oh wow! Thanks so much for the hot water idea! It'll come in handy especially when visiting tropical countries. I couldn't get into the link you posted because I still have under 100 posts :o( Not to worry, only a few more to get there now :o)
So when you do travel do you take a bunch of face cloths? Or do you take a few and wash as you use?
Thanks again!

I take a couple of light blue thin cloths that I can wash out easily and hang to dry. (Blue so that they don't get mixed in with hotel stuff.) I like the really thin baby washcloths because they dry really fast. I figure if they are clean and dry, they are safe.

I wash them out with the pine tar soap and rinse alot, in places like Bangladesh, I've even put them in my boiling bucket and boiled them a bit. (Call me paranoid, but I've HAD a parasitic infection and Typhus that all supposedly came from tap water.)

I've even just put the hotel wash rag in my little bucket of boiling water. I figure if it boils for a few minutes--then it's safe. This is an interesting way to find out what's in the towels too. Often they foam like crazy (indicating that they weren't rinsed well.)

I take a couple of light blue thin cloths that I can wash out easily and hang to dry. (Blue so that they don't get mixed in with hotel stuff.) I like the really thin baby washcloths because they dry really fast. I figure if they are clean and dry, they are safe.

I wash them out with the pine tar soap and rinse alot, in places like Bangladesh, I've even put them in my boiling bucket and boiled them a bit. (Call me paranoid, but I've HAD a parasitic infection and Typhus that all supposedly came from tap water.)

I've even just put the hotel wash rag in my little bucket of boiling water. I figure if it boils for a few minutes--then it's safe. This is an interesting way to find out what's in the towels too. Often they foam like crazy (indicating that they weren't rinsed well.)

Oh gosh now you've got me scared!! You can never know the quality of hygeine in a hotel, even the 5* ones! I doubt that I'd be boiling towels though LOL!! Though I can certainly understand why you would do that in Bangladesh. I'm from Nigeria and if you look at unboiled water the wrong way you'll probably catch something!! LOL!
Thanks for the tips about the wash cloths. Taking a few and washing them out as I use them is a better idea than taking a truck load of washcloths!!

One thing I forgot to mention. Make sure your bottle of oil is FULL nearly to the top if you are going to fly. And I put my bottle into TWO ziploc freezer bags.

I had one half full, didn't burp out the air, and only had it in one ziploc bag. The top came off because of the lowered air pressure, the Zip Loc failed. It was a real mess.

I love those camping containers that you can squeeze out the air because they really work well for this.

Thank you for the advice Gladtobemom! I'm going on vacation and going the budget hotel/hostel route in about two weeks and your info is quite timely for me. I'm a bit nervous about traveling with OCM in places where I don't have hot water to steam my face and/or I don't know what the drinking water is like.

...then again this may be an opportunity to see what other face-cleansing methods I might like.

I got my mom to try OCM tonight! :D

We were out and about shopping, and after singing it's praises for at least an hour, she got excited about it and we went to Whole Foods where she bought herself jojoba and coconut oil. When she got home later, she gave me a call to say she tried it - and so far so good! (She did say that she was a little disappointed that she only felt one little "plug" come out, but she's going to keep at it). I really hope it works for her...

Ooo, now I'm all excited...I wonder who else I know that I can convert?! :twisted: LOL

which oil is best?

The bottles you're referring to are Nalgene. They really stay closed, and are available in numerous sizes.

PeppermintPaddy, I've found light oils like Grapeseed, Sweet Almond and Jojoba are best for OCMing.

Great information from the introduction on the subject to the many testimonies on the use and results of the regiment. It appears that since eveyones skin is a little different the regiment has to be tweaked for individual use. I will certainly give this a try.

I started OCM in April 06 and after a few false starts and returns to traditional skincare, I managed a 5 month stint with OCM. I love the way the bulk of my skin looks and feels, but I have had spots on my chin for 5 months now and I cannot do this anymore.

I have tried various oils for 3 or 4 weeks at a time and nothing seems to shift these spots.

Sadly I am one of the few that OCM does not seem to work for long term.

Enjoy your results and I wish you all great skin.

Thanks. Oils are great, arn't they?

Gladtobemom. thanks so much for your great travel tips!

I just did the OCM for the 1st time but ended up doing CO-only because I spilled half the bottle of the stuff in my hand, sink, floor...
:lol:
My face (and hands) feel really soft and moisturized, but some of it got in my eyes while I was removing the mascara. It doesn't sting but feels weird and blurry. Strange, because it is supposed to be good for eyelashes?!

I used Lush Sweet Japanese girl before, but since it contains cocoa butter and coconut oil (which are comedogenic), I stopped using it.
I think this could be a keeper! :rockerdud

<<I used Lush Sweet Japanese girl before, but since it contains cocoa butter and coconut oil (which are comedogenic), I stopped using it.
I think this could be a keeper! >>


I am a bit confused by this comment, because I was told told that coconut oil is great for face and body. I am not using it for cleansing, but after the cleansing. Am I doing something that is bad for my skin?

I am a bit confused by this comment, because I was told told that coconut oil is great for face and body. I am not using it for cleansing, but after the cleansing. Am I doing something that is bad for my skin?

It is! :cloud9: It's just that I read somewhere that it is comedogenic (can clog pores) and since I am prone to acne I avoid using it on my face.
If you aren't, you shouldn't worry.
I use it on my hair and body and I love it. :grin:

I just discovered & started doing this about a month ago. My skin is ridiculously dry and absolutely loves, loves, loves OCM. I've got EVOO, coconut oil, and castor oil in my bathroom right now. :silly: I have used coconut oil on my face with no problems, though I usually just use it on my hair. On my face, I do EVOO on most of it and castor oil around my eyes. It's pretty heavy stuff, but it does a GREAT job of removing makeup, much better than EVOO. I wear contacts and I was getting really annoyed at the blurry residue seeping into my eyes for, like, 2 hours every night after OCM. So I've taken to using a tiny dab of baby shampoo right on my eyelashes. Plus that removes mascara with a lot less tugging than oil alone, and I have sparse enough lashes as is. It works great, and neutralizes the leftover castor oil.

I wear contacts and I was getting really annoyed at the blurry residue seeping into my eyes for, like, 2 hours every night after OCM. So I've taken to using a tiny dab of baby shampoo right on my eyelashes. Plus that removes mascara with a lot less tugging than oil alone, and I have sparse enough lashes as is. It works great, and neutralizes the leftover castor oil.

Thanks for the advice, Unbridled4! :wink:
I wear contacts too, I'll try avoiding the eyes or try only EVOO around the eyes. Although I'm not sure which oil caused the blurriness.

WOW, I just finished reading all 47 threads. I did get up in between and do the domestic stuff like laundry etc. :silly:

Well by page 9 I went out and purchased the Castor Oil at my local health food store and already had the EVOO in the cupboard.

I tried it for about 3 days and immediately noticed dry spots by my eyes, nose and forehead. :rolleyes: Really noticable.

So stopped using for few days. Today did it again and the dry spots were pronounced again. So I added a little extra EVOO on afterwords which has helped a bit. My mix was 75% EVOO / 25% CO as I had read quite a bit on the oily/dry combinations.

Not giving up so easily though. Will try other mixtures when I get out to the health food store to try different Oils. But in the meantime going to give the EVOO a few days to see what happens with the dry spots.

Great thread! :flower: I have learned so much.

LOVE OCM. My skin is looking very good - been using it about 3 weeks now. I've started to follow it up with a honey mask for extra moisture and my skin is glowing and looks so good. :cloud9: It's a keeper for sure for me!!

Ah ha! I knew if I kept looking I would find this article again. Thanks! I finally used the bottle of oil I mixed up when I started this the first time. Just love it!

LOL Holland, I love your avatar. Made me laugh. And your cartoon sig is hilarous too.

Forgot how to do the honey mask. Shiin would you mind giving me the mixture? Do you just use honey on your face?

LOVE OCM. My skin is looking very good - been using it about 3 weeks now. I've started to follow it up with a honey mask for extra moisture and my skin is glowing and looks so good. :cloud9: It's a keeper for sure for me!!

Shiin, I just found the post you made about the honey that your friend sent to you. :agree: Will try that. :wink:

I was wondering... are there different types of castor oil?
I bought mine at a pharmacy, didn't ask if it was refined or anything. I know it can be used internally, as a purgative so I suppose it should be ok for face - but it smells funky. :silly: Like used up cooking oil...

Been using EVOO/CO exclusively for cleansing and moisturizing for two weeks now. Oh, I also use it as a shaving cream (works wonderfully, but you have to rinse the razor well). I only use soap (and my heavy homemade cream) on my hands.

No new problem areas popping up; skin is actually on the dry side, not oily at all; I think the pores on my nose are shrinking, or they're less clogged, or something ;)

Overall, I'm *very* pleased I read this article, and everyone's comments :flowers:

After reading this thread, I tried out OCM, first couple of times with plain EVOO. It seemed to work alright.

Then I added about 25% CO...and it dried out my skin horribly. :( It onlly took a couple of uses, and my skin was dry and rough and not at ALL smooth. I've just gone back to plain EVOO and I'll see how that works, but I'm not sure if it's the best for my skin. It's very heavy.

I'm wondering, is there any other oils people would recommend for this? I'm looking into Apricot Kernel and Wheatgerm oil, but I'm not sure what would work best for my skin. I'm dry combination with a penchant for red bumps and skin, for the record.

I'm wondering, is there any other oils people would recommend for this? I'm looking into Apricot Kernel and Wheatgerm oil, but I'm not sure what would work best for my skin. I'm dry combination with a penchant for red bumps and skin, for the record.

I use Jojoba Oil in my OCM mix along with Castor oil. The proportions of each oil in my mix are equal, but you may want to add slightly more of jojoba (or any moisturizing oil you choose).

I finally managed to keep it out my eyes. I mixed a batch in a plastic bottle and I just squeeze a few drops at a time. No blurry eyes or contacts now. :wink:

I tried using jojoba instead of EVOO, but it's too light for me - feels slippery and like it doesn't absorb as well. But I do massage in a drop of jojoba after the cleansing and that works nice.

I too would like to try other oils instead of EVOO, sunflower maybe?

What about EVOO and Grapeseed oil?

I've been using the OCM for a while now and, over all, I really like the results. :) I started with 75% castor oil, 25% EVOO but found that too drying so have gradually increased the amount of EVOO. I use just plain EVOO on my shoulders and chest as the castor oil makes those areas particularly dry.

I've noticed, though, that I'm still having problems with my skin feeling itchy/dry and I think it's the castor oil, no matter how much I use, so I've decided to switch over to Jojoba oil since I've read that is a very effective cleanser as well as a moisturiser.

I'll also be experimenting with calendula oil since I suffer hormonal breakouts that can be quite painful and red, and calendula is supposed to be very good for skin problems.

So now I'm wondering whether I should mix up a jojoba/EVOO/calendula mix, or just a jojoba/calendula? OR a jojoba/evoo mix and use the calendula and some Vit E oil as a moisturiser. Decisions!

What about EVOO and Grapeseed oil?

Thanks, Psalm186!:wink:

I looked but couldn't find any grapeseed oil to buy. I think I'll try sunflower instead, it isn't comedogenic and is supposed to be lighter than EVOO.

Just to add, this is the best exfoliation method I ever tried.:grin: I never liked store bought exfoliators much. They did nothing special to my face, even left it tight and flaky sometimes.

ETA: I also added a drop of rosemary eo and it really makes a difference.

Hmm... sunflower oil, eh? I'll have to look into that...

I think I have to agree with Gemma though... I noticed my skin is a little *too* dry, so I started using EVOO only. My skin doesn't feel tight at all, but it may be a little *too* non-drying... my forehead still feels oily from this morning.

I guess I'll have to adjust how much oil I apply as a moisturizer -- I definitely don't need quite so much :lol:

Overall, I'm not breaking out like I was afraid I would, and since I've also joined the No-Picking challenge, I've had a lot less spots on my face :)

Gemma, I use a touch of rose oil in my blend to help balance the hormonal breakouts and soothe. If you come across any, it's worth a try.

It's been quite a long time since I've posted here, but I wanted to give an update. I'm still using the OCM, though sometimes I do it with Ponds Cold Cream (only because I adore the smell :rolleyes:). I'm using about 75% high-oleic sunflower seed oil with about 25% castor oil and a couple of drops of rose oil to help balance and soothe my easily irritated skin. I'm no longer using extra virgin olive oil as I found the sunflower seed oil to be better in smoothing, moisturizing, softening, penetrating and dissolving the gunk. It's also far lighter in texture. It has vitamins A, D, and lots of E, lots of fatty acids, and letchithin. I find that it cleans better, but without drying as badly (purifying would be the more accurate way for me to put it). I use sunflower seed oil for just about everything (including detangling my hair on occasion). It's my favorite oil. :inlove:

Anyway, I'm still loving the OCM. :grin:

I am so glad I found this thread! I have a gallon of castor oil under the sink in my kitchen. I make soap and use it in my recipe. Now I have another use for it!

I also started on EVOO and castor oil and it was drying for me also. I now use just sweet almond oil I have been for a few months now. I dont have as dry skin with this oil I have been thinking of adding rosehip oil and apricot oil like a recipe someone has on here for mature skin. I am getting wrinkles and I hate them so much.

Hi! I'm completely new here. I just made it through all 48 pages!!!! I started yesterday!!! Last night i remembered I had a sample sized jar of Mario Badescu "Cleansing Milk with carnation and rice oil." My skin looks radiant. i've only used it twice!!! I'm so excited to try my EVOO and CO tonight!!! I'll update in a fewq days when i see how it goes.

I just wanted to post a link
http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com (http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/)

They have every type oil, flower waters, and tons of stuff perfect for OCM!!!

Thank you all for the great information!I hope it works!
I'm a little nervous about the castor oil. :rolleyes:
I'm going to try to OCM once a day at night followed with sugar scrub.

Gemma, I use a touch of rose oil in my blend to help balance the hormonal breakouts and soothe. If you come across any, it's worth a try.

Thanks for the tip! The shop I order all my oils from regularly have that in stock so I'll pick some up next time I place an order. :)

WOW! I OCMed for the first time last night and I am thrilled with the immediate results! A horrible monster zit that just started by my eyebrow has gone done a lot. My skin tone hasn't looked this even in forever. Red blotchy patches on my cheeks are smooth and almost gone! Dark spots and healing pimples are much less noticeable! My skin has healed so dramatically over the night I can't thank LHC and everyone enough. :flowers:

Is the sunflower oil you suggest the regular sunflower oil in a bottle at the grocery store in the cooking aisle or is it different?

Is the sunflower oil you suggest the regular sunflower oil in a bottle at the grocery store in the cooking aisle or is it different?
Aye, as long as it's the first (sometimes referred to as 'virgin,' however that term is only governed in Italy -- in North America, that term doesn't mean anything legally) "cold-pressed". If it doesn't say anything on the bottle, chances are it's not. You might have to pay extra for the premium brands, usually in the pretty bottles.

I tried OCM and didn't particularly like it, mainly because I don't have the patience for it (I like a foaming cleanser that is on and off within 20 seconds). But, I am still extremely happy that I tried it, because it showed me that I LOVE coconut oil as a postwash moisturizer. I now use it every single night. It is incredible. Thank you, oil gurus :)

I am using it. All kinds of gunk is coming out of my pores!! I thought I had good skin, but this is showing me there is stuff just under the surface. I am having a few breakouts but they are calming down.

My skin is not as oily and is very soft. I am waiting to see the pores get smaller!:wink: I need to play around with the oils though. I am using 50/50 castor oil/olive oil with a smidgeon emu oil and some Lavender/TeaTree essential oils. I think the essential oils are too much. The area around my nose feels inflamed. When I use the castor oil straight as a moisturizer it calms down. I've use olive oil as a moisturizer for years so I know my skin is ok with that as well.

Over all? This is a great way to go. My skin looks fabulous with make-up. My husband even noticed. Once it calms down from the change, I may even go make-up free.

So I'm starting OCM today. Does everyone prepare the mixture day of or do you have a bottle stashed somewhere to make it a bit easier? I don't know if bottling it would lose it's effectiveness? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

So I'm starting OCM today. Does everyone prepare the mixture day of or do you have a bottle stashed somewhere to make it a bit easier? I don't know if bottling it would lose it's effectiveness? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

I tried using them separately the first time and ended up spilling half the bottle of castor oil on the floor.:lol: So I mix them in a bottle, but just enough to last me a week - maybe 1 oz cause I don't use that much. And it's easier to get the quantities right that way.

It works just fine, but don't make a big batch especially if you plan to add eo-s to the mix.:wink:

I tried using them separately the first time and ended up spilling half the bottle of castor oil on the floor.:lol: So I mix them in a bottle, but just enough to last me a week - maybe 1 oz cause I don't use that much. And it's easier to get the quantities right that way.

It works just fine, but don't make a big batch especially if you plan to add eo-s to the mix.:wink:

eo-s? haha i'm such a newbie you'll have to excuse my unknowledgeable self! perhaps i can ask you another question. do you use it every day? what proportions do you use? ahhh! lol!

Oils can go bad and go rancid. I bought a 2 oz bottle at Wally World that I premix my oils in. This lasts about a week. I keep the castor oil in the fridge.

If you keep your oils in a dispenser that is closed and your fingers don't come into contact with the oils in the jar, you should be ok.

eo-s? haha i'm such a newbie you'll have to excuse my unknowledgeable self! perhaps i can ask you another question. do you use it every day? what proportions do you use? ahhh! lol!

Sorry for my laziness. :grin: EO means essential oil.

Yes, I use it every day, at night. I use a mix with equal amounts of castor and olive and a few drops of rosemary verbenon essential oil.

I think it goes like this: 75/25% castor/olive for oily skin, 25/75% for dry skin.:wink:

Army Girl, try it without the tea tree oil. A couple of drops of lavender should be fine, but the tea tree oil will irritate. If you're going to use it, use a drop in your moisturizer, be it oil, cream, whatever, but don't steam it into your skin.

Methebee, I have a 4 ounce plastic bottle I use for small batches.

ah, ok. I will stop using it to cleanse. Thank you!

I do kind of a modified OCM at the moment and I thought that I would share. My skin is way to sensitive to use hot water so this is how I do it:

The oil I use is jojoba oil. I have tried CO, EVOO, coconut and sweet almond oil in different combinations and jojoba is the one that's seem to be most suited for my skin (very dry and very acne-prone). First I use some oil on a cottonball to remove my eye make-up and then I pour some oils in my (newly washed) hands and massage my face for 2-4 minutes. When I'm done I just use another cottonball to remove the oil from my face. I splash some warm (never hot) water on my face and use a paper towel made especially for the face to pat my face dry. I then use a toner (at the moment it's Lush eau roma toner, I really like it) to make sure that all the make-up is gone and to get rid of the last traces of oil. As a last and final step I mix two drops of jojoba oil and the toner to moisturize my face. Since this is rather time consuming I only do it at night, in the morning I just splash water in my face and then mix toner and jojobaoil to moisturize again. My skin is less dry that's it's been in a long time and even though it doesn't really help with the acne it doesn't make it worse either. Over all my skin is in better shape then it's been in a long time.

I made my friend try it last night and she loved how her skin felt this morning. Normally her skin is pretty oily when she wakes up now it wasn't oily at all, just very soft.

So if you don't want to use a hot cloth to steam your face this is a really good way to do it. Just make sure that you doesn't use a oil that doesn't clog your pores like castor- or coconut oil if you are acne prone since it almost impossible to get all of the oils off your face after you massaged it. It always leaves a bit of residue.

Army Girl, try it without the tea tree oil. A couple of drops of lavender should be fine, but the tea tree oil will irritate. If you're going to use it, use a drop in your moisturizer, be it oil, cream, whatever, but don't steam it into your skin.

Methebee, I have a 4 ounce plastic bottle I use for small batches.

yay two for one! lol. i'll be picking up a bottle and some lavender oil as well.. thanks!

i'm going to be a pain and ask another question though. how much of the mixture do you guys use? also, what kind of olive oil do you use? good stuff, middle or cheap? right now i'm using some really good stuff but what to do when it runs out is next on the plate!

No pain. :smile: I guess the best way to put it is...holding my hand flat, palm up, but not stretched wide open, I pour a puddle into my hand so that it fills the dip in my palm. It's a fairly large amount, but I like the slip that amount provides. It's not any harder to steam it off than half the amount would be. Use whatever amount feels the best to you as long as your skin is saturated with the oil. The olive oil I use is the extra virgin from my kitchen. I use mid range, but it probably doesn't matter a whole lot, just as long as it's cold pressed.

I've used 2 drops of rosemary in my mix, and I did feel little tingles but pleasant. But I think I'll switch to rosemary verbenon, cause it's milder.

Well, I have been using OCM for about 2 weeks and I'm in love :cloud9:!

After I massacred my face with Lush Fresh farmacy facial soap - my chin broke out awfully. Now it's almost gone, no new spots and my face feels better than ever.

I'm thinking of making another batch with shea instead of EVOO to help heal those little red spots from the old acne.

When I think of it, the only things I use on my face at the moment are: CO, EVOO, jojoba and aloe vera gel. Almost only oils. :wink: And I was afraid of using oils on my face my whole life.

No pain. :smile: I guess the best way to put it is...holding my hand flat, palm up, but not stretched wide open, I pour a puddle into my hand so that it fills the dip in my palm. It's a fairly large amount, but I like the slip that amount provides. It's not any harder to steam it off than half the amount would be. Use whatever amount feels the best to you as long as your skin is saturated with the oil. The olive oil I use is the extra virgin from my kitchen. I use mid range, but it probably doesn't matter a whole lot, just as long as it's cold pressed.

thats exactly what i have been doing so far so good stuff! now to find out if it is cold pressed oil. ;p thanks so much for the help! :)

I started OCM in April 06 and after a few false starts and returns to traditional skincare, I managed a 5 month stint with OCM. I love the way the bulk of my skin looks and feels, but I have had spots on my chin for 5 months now and I cannot do this anymore.

I have tried various oils for 3 or 4 weeks at a time and nothing seems to shift these spots.

Sadly I am one of the few that OCM does not seem to work for long term.

Enjoy your results and I wish you all great skin.

Ok, so yes, you are right, I can't make up my mind and I wouldn't blame you if you kicked me off this thread.

I am back trying OCM. I was reading through some posts and realised that the problems I had with OCM (spots) I still have with conventional cleansers / moisturisers added to which my skin does not look as good.

I have gone back and re-read a fair amount of this thread and have started with the following.

* Mornings *
- Wash with water and evenings where I was not wearing make-up, use a tiny amount of Sweet Almond Oil to moisturise if needed.

* Evenings *
- Pour a small amount of Sweet Almond Oil into my palm, rub hands together and massage into face and neck.
- Pour a small amount of Castor Oil into palm, rub hands together and massage into face and neck over the Sweet Almond Oil.
- Wet face cloth in very warm water, wring out and steam - wipe away some oil once cool and repeat twice.
- Rinse cloth well and wet with cold water and pat on face.
- Massage a tiny amount of Sweet Almond Oil in as a moisturiser over the water.

I have been doing this for a week and all seems great - the few spots that were there have gone and nothing more has appeared.

Merrycat, that's great that you've found something that works for you. I need to get back to using OCM. Somebody give me a swift kick in the behind!

Does castor oil need to be kept in a fridge or would my bathroom be okay??

Josephine - consider yourself kicked!! My problem is that when OCM gives me a problem I tend to think that products would be better. What I forget is that on products I have the same problems, just with others added in and the extra expense.

I keep my castor oil in the bathroom (summer and winter) and I have never had a problem.

Hi. I just subscribed to this thread and my 13 year-old daughter and I have tried it once. She is struggling with acne and we are trying to find more natural methods to help because BP and such really burn her face. Thanks to armygirl for pointing us this direction. I have some questions, but I'm trying to read through the thread before I ask them!
Sally:flower: